Mass Eject: For The Record
by BioticStories
Summary: My dad always said to me being a soldier would never be easy but I didn't understand the wisdom in his words until I was one day taken from my old world and essentially became forced to fight a war for survival against Hegemony soldiers, Mercenaries , Cerberus and of course the Giant Cuttlefish themselves, something tells me I have the worst run of luck going around.
1. 2013-2170 Integration

**Your world, as you knew it, is gone, how far will you go to bring it back?-Captain John Price**

Space is vast…..Humanity has only just began scratching the surface of its huge expanse and yet we have been around for millennium, we will not find out more for the next decade at least and we may never find life outside this universe but what of the Multi-Verse theory?

I usually tended to think about things like this when I wasn't trying to improve my fitness for the British Royal Marines, I learnt from a young age how to shoot because of my father.

I look down at his dog-tags that I am wearing around my neck, I miss the guy and I wanted to follow in his footsteps and join up in three years, then I will be 18 years old.

I ponder this for a few more seconds then shrug and insert the Mass Effect disk into my X-BOX tray, it accepts the disk and I am brought to the set up part.

I have completed all three Mass Effect games numerous times and with different Shepards' ranging from various extremes but I am looking for something different this time, something fresh if you will.

I decide on a Female Shepard with the default hair and eyes but I change the facial features and add some scars, possibly from Akuze or Elysium?

I make her a Colonist, War Hero and accept but then I hear an echoing voice that didn't seem to be possible but it seems to be coming from everywhere.

**"Kieran Evans, you are needed somewhere else, prepare yourself!" **The voice boomed.

I am shocked to put it lightly. No to be more accurate I am freaking the fuck out I feel my head go light and I fall to my knees.

My vision is smothered by darkness and everything disappears…

* * *

**Fusion...Complete/ Corporal is ready.**

I wake up to a man holding his hand out and I grasp it firmly then he pulls me up, I stand on my own two feet despite how shaky they are initially.

"Who are you, where am I?" I ask weakly as my words catch slightly in my throat causing me to cough viciously.

"Woah there, take it easy son, you took a nasty hit there, I'm Lieutenant Smith N7, you need to be rehabilitated it seems."

He stands a full 6 foot at least and was wearing the default Onyx armour with the N7 logo attached to it, he had dark brown hair and green eyes.

_N7? I look around, bewildered and see the Alliance logo on a tank…the M35 MAKO, what the fuck is going on here? Okay go with it for now maybe I can play the amnesia card and find out why the hell he's calling me "Marine"._

"Lieutenant Smith, sir I don't really remember anything about me….could I get my service record please sir?" I ask deliberately sounding vulnerable as if I don't know myself which he thinks I don't.

"Of course, I actually have it here on a data pad, take a look soldier." He says and tosses the Datapad towards me, I catch it and start to read it extensively already.

**Name: Corporal Kieran Evans**

**Date of Birth: 1st November, 2152**

**Birthplace: London, Earth**

**Unit: 42nd Marine Regiment**

**Service Record: Kieran Evans joined the Alliance Military as soon as he turned 18 on the 1st of November 2170 and has received a number of medals and even promotion despite still only being 18 for several acts of valour while taking on Batarian pirates in the verge.**

**Commendation: Kieran received the Star of Terra after single-handedly holding off a group of Batarian Pirates numbering in the dozens and protecting the lives of his fellow Marines and local civvies caught in the fight.**

**Latest Assignment: 21st October 2171 Operation Attrition**

**The Corporal and the rest of the soldiers available from the 42nd Marine Regiment have been tasked with clearing an underground network of Batarian Slavers who are dealing in attacking Human colonies in the system.**

**Support: Four M35 Mako's and 50 soldiers from the 42nd Marine Regiment.**

**Anticipated Enemy Resistance: Anywhere from 50-100 Batarian Slave Traders.**

I sigh and feel information flood into my head, training, missions, it was simple, I'm not in my body anymore and that voice, whatever it was if it is Omni-Potent or something could have changed the records and stuffed me in this Marine's body for a laugh.

Great that makes me feel like whatever god it was is fucking with me, I stifle a chuckle at that and all the soldiering skills this guy knew have been inherited by me.

I was wearing the new issue Gladiator armour with a Nav-Beacon installed, displaying all my objectives and it reads as follows.

**1. ****Link up with Sgt. Burns and prepare to assault the entrance of the base.**

I see that my Nav-Beacon is telling me that Sgt. Burns is located about ten meters to my left and I walk over to him.

"Everyone grab a rifle, shotgun and pistol!" I hear him bellow and he throws me a Kessler-I, Lancer-I and a Storm-I shotgun.

I fumble but manage to equip the weapons to the designated mag-locks on my armour are already moving out by time I get kitted up properly.

"Hey Evans, you're new to the squad, our point man *Sandbag* is going to stay at the front and you will be near the back, head on a swivel." Burns informs me and I chuckle at the squaddie humour.

He calls the point man sandbag because a sandbag is meant to protect you from bullets in war or explosions, he is doing the same except his body is one giant sandbag.

We head out into the heart of darkness, the field outside the base was covered with ankle-deep grass, we slowly skulk over to the entrance of the base however just before we get into the clear I hear gunfire and see a Batarian on top of the Pre-Fab and my (The Marine who's body I seem to be in's) training kicks in.

"Contact!" I yell and open with my Lancer, the weapon jolted slightly in my hand however it is enough to force the Batarian into cover on the roof but Burns renders his cover useless by running next to the building.

"Grenade out!" He roars and lobs the grenade on the top of the roof, I hear an explosion and a scream and we stack up on the door.

"Sandbag you're up." Burns whispers and the Marine highlighted on my HUD as Serviceman Muller hacks the door and enters first with a shotgun and I immediately see multiple Batarians staring at us with raised weapons.

"Everyone take cover!" I yell and take cover next to the door without going inside the building, however Muller was shredded before he could retreat.

"Squad, get a grenade in there!" Burns screamed over the intense automatic gunfire of our enemies.

I throw one down the corridor and wait for the deafening explosion to occur before looking down the corridor again.

I cast a glance down there and see one Batarian left, I walk into the building and pump a few bursts into his chest causing a sick gargling sound to be emitted from his chest.

Our squad is now down to four men and I see a woman called Corporal. Smith take point with her shotgun.

We advance for a few seconds then check our corners, Smith advanced down a narrow left corridor and before I know it about a dozen shots rang out and Smith falls down to the ground.

I dash over to her and drag her into cover then for good measure I throw a grenade in the direction the fire came from.

I hear an explosion and several screams alerting me to the fact that I was successful, I see Smith bleeding from her abdomen and she is trying to say something.

"Corporal…give." She coughs up blood and I shake my head at the wounded soldier.

"No Smith, save your strength you can make this!" I yell but she shakes her head.

"Corporal, give these too….my…son...urgh..." She fades into oblivion on those words and I know what she meant, I grab her dog-tags and place them in the pouch on my back.

"Come on Evans we need to move!" Burns shouts and I nod before continuing and then I decide to take point.

I hear echoes of distant shotgun fire and I knew that it could be either side getting slaughtered as there seemed to be no return fire.

I sweep around the corner and see no hostiles, I shake my head and continue on down the seemingly narrowing corridor.

A Batarian turns the corner and stares in horror as me, Burns and another marine called Ramirez opened fire on him, riddling him with bullets and turning him into a four-eyed pile of mincemeat.

_How can I just be massacring people like this, my conscience shouldn't be able to handle this easily at all but somehow I don't feel anything._

I shake my head as I need to focus on the combat at hand and turn the next corner however my objective marker changes.

**Retrieve intel from building-Distance: 2 meters.**

I obey and open the door located two meters to my left and hear a high pitched beeping, I walk in and then I see the bombs rigged to the wall behind me.

Burns is the first to react.

"Get down lad!" He dives at me and pushes me to the floor, I feel pain as I fall but then I hear ringing in my ears and my vision goes dark….

My vision comes back a few seconds later however I see a group of Batarians standing at the door aiming their pistols at Ramirez, they fire and rip through his shields killing him mercilessly.

They walk into the room and I pull my shotgun off of my belt as they haven't spotted me in the corner of the room yet, I breathe in and get to my knees, my arms are shaking like crazy but I manage to get off the first shot and tear apart the first of three Batarians.

I see Burns take out his pistol and fire until it overheats causing our foes to drop down dead.

I stagger over Burns who is now breathing heavily, I see the entry and exit points of his numerous wounds caused by the shrapnel of those explosives and I know he is dying however I still pointlessly try to keep him awake by shaking his shoulders.

"Come on Burns, damn it, stay with me!" I yell.

"Well mate, looks like it's just you now…..give em hell…" He chokes on his last word and I start shaking, I nearly throw up but manage somehow to force the bile down and hear my comm line going.

"Bravo Six, repeat Bravo Six is anyone still on this frequency, over?" The command control operator asks and I turn on my comm.

"Baseplate this is Bravo Six-Five, I'm alone down here, Bravo Six-One and the rest of Bravo Six are KIA, I repeat KIA." I manage to choke out.

"Copy that, can you move on your own strength Bravo Six-Five?" Baseplate asks.

I try to move and find my leg is done in by the shrapnel and the fact that the adrenaline has worn off didn't help matters at all.

"Negative Baseplate, my leg is knackered from shrapnel, I can't move it." I say in a calmer tone than I imagined."

I can now feel the pain creeping up my leg in pulses, I hated this sort of pain, it was constant without any sort of relief and it would stop and start repeatedly making it worse.

A few minutes of agonising pain later and I feel myself slip into unconsciousness.

Songs played- **Skrillex & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - Make It Bun Dem**

**Kdrew-Firestarter**

**AN: I know this may seem very mediocre and it probably is, however I urge you to leave a review so you can explain what I need to work on and then that way I can entertain you, my readers more effectively if at all ;)**


	2. Rio

**Agonising screams corrupt the innocent mind of the small child, The soldier gasps, this is what he is fighting to prevent yet it occurs before him, the many slavers of Batarian blood and creed taint the once peaceful colony with split blood and guts- A paragraph describing Mindoir.**

* * *

**I've killed so many people I've lost count, I can't come back from this I'm a monster, I can FEEL the anger inside of me but I am still somewhere, deep down inside me more than that, better than that- Jason Brody (Far Cry 3)**

**"Kieran, you couldn't save them, surely a good soldier looks out for his comrades rather than letting them die?" **The voice taunts and I feel a hint of rage however I felt something holding me back, maybe some of the Corporal's influence was still here in my self-control.

"When you stop haunting my sleep and allow me to run efficiently so I can save my comrades and prevent the risk of them dying needlessly let me know okay?" I say sarcastically and the voice doesn't appreciate it.

**"No Kieran! You failed! If it wasn't for you they would still be here and you know that for a fact!" **The voice is shouting now and the reasoning behind his words hits me hard.

"No, I tried to save them, there was nothing I could do!" I screamed and the voice takes it as a challenge.

**"You didn't try hard enough and now four family have to lose their loved one because you were too cowardly to even take a bullet for them and you let everyone else take one for you!" The voice bellows and something snaps inside me.**

"Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" I yell.

I hear the constant beeping of medical equipment and the sickening smell of anaesthetic, the white walls around me are plain and I try to sit up.

"Relax Corporal, you got some nasty shrapnel wounds down there." The doctor says and forces me to stay lying down much to my annoyance, I never liked hospitals or needles or well…you get the point.

"When can I go?" I ask with exasperation and she just laughs.

"In a few moments, I hear Commander Smith wants to talk to you." She says and I am confused.

"Ma'am don't you mean Lieutenant Smith?" I ask with confusion.

"He was promoted after the battle for getting entire squad out alive and completing the mission exceptionally."

"Where is he?" I ask so I actually know where to go and she sighs, I'm starting to think my questions are getting on her nerves.

"He is at the cargo hold, I'm gonna release you so you can see him now." She says with a shrug and I nod in thanks.

I stand up and walk out, I hear her sigh in relief just before the door closes causing me to force myself not to laugh as a guy coming out of the Med-Bay laughing like a lunatic isn't a sign of something good.

I follow the many signs to the cargo hold, they are painted on the walls quite well.

I finally wonder what I should do about canon, should I change it for the better. Should I change small things that in the end will add up to huge importance, I don't know for sure but now I have a commander to talk to?

I walk over to Commander Smith and see all the caskets bearing the Alliance logo and above the one at the front I see one name.

**Sergeant. Raymond Burns.**

I feel sorrow well up in my stomach and I know that he died saving my life, that doesn't make it better to be honest. Why did he have to die when I am just some Corporal (as far as he knew) and he was a Sergeant with a great career ahead of him with a wife and kids?

I finally break the commander out of his trance by announcing my presence and salute him crisply.

"Commander Smith Sir! You wanted to see me about something?" I ask with respect for his greater rank like I knew was necessary.

"At ease Corporal, you know that I am N7 correct?" He asks with interest and I nod.

"Yes sir." I confirm.

"I have managed to get you slotted into the N7 training program, as you are under my command in the 42nd Marine Regiment I have selected you as the candidate for special training." He says and my mind starts to flat-line.

"Sir, why me and not some of the more experienced Marines?" I ask with evident confusion to which he just smiles.

"I see something in you Corporal, remember why you received that Star of Terra? I see a young, courageous, yet smart and able soldier in you Corporal and with that special training you could become an even better soldier. You also have a fire in you that I had before I took N training, I can see it in your eyes." He explains and I am standing with a most likely dumb looking expression on my face.

"T-thank you sir, when do I ship out to Rio?" I ask as I still knew that is where the N school is located.

"You ship out now Corporal, we are in orbit above Earth and I have a shuttle ready to pick you up in a minute from now and all your stuff has already been moved down to the surface so no need to worry about squaring away your kit." He says as if it is no big deal.

I salute again and nod.

"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" I say quickly as the shuttle arrives and I jog to get to it.

It leaves the cargo bay as quickly as it arrived and the ship I was assigned to became nothing but a small speck as we descend into atmosphere.

I feel a dull thud as the shuttle makes contact with the ground and when I exit the shuttle I immediately feel the humid heat of Rio.

When someone says going to another country the heat is different, they aren't kidding. It's a nice wet kind of heat however in England if we even get heat at all it was always dry…pestilent.

Thinking of home makes me frown instantly, how much did I lose coming here?

A loving mother, my best friend Andrew who always had the right thing to say, Amie who always comforted me when I was sad, I miss them.

Well I guess there is little I can do about it now, more so considering it was in theory a god who put me here. I may as well just stick around and make myself useful to the Alliance and therefore useful in the Reaper war, if I survive till then.

_Stop being so morbid! I shout to myself._

I walk around for ages reading the sheet of paper handed to me by the guide, it says to advance to Barracks 47 and I wonder around for years (or so it seemed) looking like an idiot and eventually I find it and open the door.

Upon entry I see four soldiers staring at me expectantly and I realise they were also all new recruits from different regiments, recommended by their CO's for their valour or combat skills.

"Well then looks like we should introduce ourselves to the Fucking New Guy eh?" The tall one with black hair says and I notice he has a long scar tracing diagonally along his face, from a mission?

"Guess so, but isn't Fucking New Guy a bit…I don't know, rude?" I joke and he can clearly tell I'm not being serious as it was a light-hearted remark.

A woman with light blonde hair tucked into a bun studies me intently then turns off the Omni-Tool she was using a few moments before I came into the Barracks.

"Amanda Palmer, N7 Combat Engineer, in training of course." She winks at me after saying the last part causing me to smile without choice as it was impossible not to then.

Then the large bloke from before takes off one of his greaves and smiles.

"Jacob Keyes, N7 Vanguard in training." He says with a smile and goes back to inspecting his shotgun.

Then another man who looks about 25 looks at me.

"Adam Mason, N7 Adept in training." His facial expression doesn't change and he just goes back to doing what he was before, nothing.

The final person, a woman who looked to be fresh out of basic stares at me for a few seconds before saying.

"Alexia Wilkinson, N7 Infiltrator in training." After she says this the rest of them looked at me expectantly.

"Corporal. Kieran Evans, N7 in training." I say with a smile and the rest of them don't say anything despite me not saying what class I am as I have no idea what I am at the moment.

"Well, Kieran welcome to our Barracks, the scientists will give you your class tomorrow after a series of tests and then you should be sorted for training but for now get some sleep as a long sleep becomes a rare thing in training." Jacob says and I nod and occupy the empty bunk.

I set my Omni-Tool to play music to help soothe me to sleep.

**Now Playing- Daughtry: There and Back Again**

**AN:I have written the second chapter and may be accepting OC Marines of all classes as many operations are to be done however they won't be added into the fic until after the N7 Mini-Arc is finished, pm me the details and I will try to add them.**

**Or you could pm me any ideas for the fic or pairings you may want to see but for now PEACE.**

**-Bioticstories**


	3. Training 101

I wake to howling silence, I quickly get myself dressed properly and find my things. I finish off and head down to the Briefing Hall where we are given our daily duties, this is my first day waking up without being unconscious first in this universe so it's rather nice.

I stand at attention next to the N recruits who are standing in a neat row beside me, it's unnerving because our commanding officer just stands there staring at us like a piece of uncooked meat, willing us to be cooked so he can eat us but that's just my opinion.

He finally opens his mouth.

"Okay recruits today you will run the pit training course, it is an assault course where you will have to shoot targets but avoid civilian targets! First up I want Corporal Evans, get your ass in there boy!" He yells and his voice is gruff but he bellows like a bloody Reaper's horn.

I comply and head to my right through a small door, once inside I see a selection of weapons on the table and then a huge timer displayed in holographic numbers.

"Sir, which weapons am I allowed to use?" I ask with slight confusion.

"All of them!" He yells and it actually hurts my ears, he reminds me of the old Drill Sergeant back when I lived in Aldershot, that guy was a miserable fucker though.

I nod and scanned the table for a good weapon to use, I see a M7-Lancer and decide to take it along with a Kessler I pistol for the course which I clamp to the mag-lock on my hip.

"The targets will have shields so you will need to drop them as well, however the civilian targets will have no shields to mimic a real situation."

I nod at this and stand on the starting line with my Lancer raised.

"Go!"

As soon as my CO says this two targets pop up ahead of me on the right, they are located behind a few sandbags putting half of their bodies in cover however exposing the top half.

I open fire immediately, the rifle bucks in my hand for about 2 seconds and my rounds rip through the targets, I advance after seeing the targets are down.

A few seconds later three targets pop up however a little girl "Civvie" is in front of one of the targets and I fire at the one that is exposed on a watchtower then go round and shoot at an angle so I also hit the other target and not the "Civvie".

I move up again and come to a wooden door.

I kick the door by putting all the force into my heel and kicking near the lock, it breaks open and some splinters fly out but I enter regardless.

I pull out my pistol and fire at a target located straight to my left but it takes three shots to bring down, thankfully not one more as the pistol doesn't take long to overheat.

I see two more targets pop up and I almost fire however I barely spot that the target in front is a man in a business suit so I hold fire and move my arm around then fire three shots to take it down without hitting the man.

I sprint up the stairs which are marked with arrows and when I get to the top a target pops up in front of me and without thinking I give it a heavy punch with my fist and then I see that I have reached the end.

My fist hurts like hell after that.

_Note to Self: Don't punch everything that surprises you._

I exit the pit and see some of the other recruits staring daggers into me, the CO however is just smiling at me.

"You completed that course in 10 seconds Corporal, congratulations I've only ever seen one soldier do it that quickly."

"Who was that sir?" I ask.

"A man named David, that's all I'm telling you." He says with a grunt.

"Sir, should I fall in with the rest? What are my orders?" I say with pride at having done the first course which to be honest was easy but then again I have good reflexes.

"That will be all for now Corporal Evans, fall out and report to the Medical Bay next door to here for your check up." He orders and I offer a crisp salute which he returns.

I walk into the Med-Bay and to be honest it was pretty empty, one doctor is standing there next to a patient bed and I sigh.

"Ah Corporal, just lay down here and I will give you your report afterwards." He says with a somewhat friendly smile and I obey.

I lie down on the cold table and close my eyes, what are meant to be moments feel like hours as the doctor works on me, looking for the littlest thing that could prove me a liability to the Alliance.

After what feels like years he stops and I open my eyes again, he hands me a Datapad with a smug smirk which worries me as I look down with a grim expression.

**Name: Corporal Kieran Evans**

**Medical Report: In perfect condition however it must be noted that I have detected a large amount of Element Zero in his bloodstream, more than should be possible if he is fitted with the best biotic amp available he could become as strong as an Asari Matron in terms of raw biotic power.**

I read it over and over again, it shouldn't be possible. How in the hell did I get exposed to so much Element Zero and not die?

Before I could read further the doctor rushes me out of the room and says.

"Come back in a week and I will fit a biotic amp for you." He smiles evilly after saying that and it freaks me out, what if he's a mass murderer but that always happens with me.

I overanalyse what the doctors do and assume the worst based on it, I've been called paranoid before but I simply laughed it off.

I walk out of the room and back to the barracks, the heat makes my skin crawl so I pick up the pace and try to get back quicker.

I open the door and enter, I only see one person in the room and I see it is Amanda, she is tinkering with her Omni-Tool like when I first arrived.

"Hey Amanda." I say happily.

She glances up and smiles at me, I feel something in my chest but I simply ignore it and sit down on my bed which is located next to hers.

"Hey Kieran, how did it go?" She asks with genuine curiosity.

"Well the initial assault course was a breeze, I got ten seconds however the Medical was more interesting as I found out I have a river of Element Zero in my veins that should be more than enough to kill me so you know average?" I joke and she laughs genuinely at that.

"Well I guess you could call that average, if not eye-opening." She says and I look into her eyes.

She seems happy to say the least however I'm starting to think that's a regular thing.

"Hey Kieran, the rest of the guys went off without me, no real surprise their so do you want to go to the café?"

I contemplate her offer for a few moments and conclude there is nothing better to do and she seems like a decent enough person to be around.

"Sure." I say, the day seems to be going great so far.

**AN: Tried to make this a little better, please leave a review :D**


	4. The Walls Come Down

The walk to the café is a silent one and I start to think I may have offended Amanda somehow, however I notice that she seems lost in thought. If I wasn't here with her she may have become completely lost in her thoughts and gotten lost, it's definitely a possibility.

She reminds me of one of my best friends from school before this whole fucked up mess happened, Amelia, I wonder what happened to her, to me in my universe, did I die and leave all my friends in mourning?

I hope not because the thought of people being sad over my death isn't a nice thought but if I went missing that's even worse as mum and Amelia will have no closure as well as everyone else that actually liked me.

I have a rough idea of how I will _try_ to change canon, I will try to save Ash and Kaiden if that's even possible, I will try to save Shepard before the SR1 is destroyed but will that result in changes of canon that I can't foresee?

It's a troubling situation definitely but I will find some way to work it out even if it kills me, I chuckle at that thought.

_It may just have to come to that, sacrifice myself for a universe that I don't even belong to._

For now I am content to be in the company of Amanda.

We turn around the corner and come to a small building that had a few tables outside however it's too hot to eat or drink outside, for me at least, I'm British so I'm not used to the Brazilian heat.

We enter the building and take a seat in one of the booths, this one in particular is tucked into the corner, and nobody would see us from any angle unless they were right next to us.

I ordered a drink on the Datapad and Amanda does the same. I order a Coke as I'm curious to know if it tastes the same as it used to, Amanda orders a Coke also.

"So Kieran, where are you from?" She asks and I'm glad it's a question I don't have to lie about as that would be difficult.

"I come from London here on Earth, I haven't seen it for a few years, I'm curious to know my area has stayed the same, what about you?" I say and isn't a lie because I am curious to see how it's changed.

"I come from Elysium where my father owned a small company with my mother as the secretary." She says and I nod to assure her I'm listening.

"I didn't really get on with people my age, I've always get on with people older, my mother said it was because I've been more mature at a younger age than most." I say and that is another truth because that Andrew guy who was my best friend, when I was 14 he was nearly 17.

"Really, there wasn't ever that many children my age to talk to as I was expected to be more mature to run the company but as soon as I left Elysium I've been way more like myself." She says and I nod in understanding.

Our drinks arrive and I take sip of the Coke placed in front of me, it refreshes me instantly and I feel all the fatigue from my still relatively easy day wash away.

"Amanda, have you seen action before?" I ask with curiosity as she seemed a bit light-hearted to be a soldier.

"Once, what about you?" She asks in return.

"I've seen action a few times, once I received the Star of Terra for protecting my squad. I also saw action with the 42nd Marine Regiment during Operation Attrition-"I cut off with what I'm saying and tighten the grip on my glass after mentioning that day.

"Kieran are you okay?" She asks, immediately concerned with me locking up.

"Yea, that just brings up some bad memoires." I mutter and support my forehead with my hand."

"What happened?" She asked and I was almost a little offended at her prying but then I realise, I haven't actually told anyone myself other than Baseplate about what happened.

My faded blue eyes meet her haunted green…I feel something in my chest again and shake my head.

"I was under the command of Sergeant Burns, we were tasked to bring down a group of Batarian mercenaries taking cover in an underground bunker network." I say while staring into the bottom of my coke glass.

"And?" She asks, urging me to continue.

"We got ambushed but nobody died, we moved into the network, our squad had 5 men including me, our point man Serviceman Muller, we joked and called him sandbag but when we entered a barrage of gunfire awaited us and they cut Muller down before he could make it back into cover."

"Was the fighting brutal?" She asked and I nodded.

"We advanced down a hallway and a woman called Corporal Smith took point but she was almost instantly shot, her last words were to return her tags' to her son and she died talking to me, I told her she would live."

I chocked on the word live and she looked at me, even more concerned than before but I needed to keep telling her, get it off my chest.

"I took point next and we advanced into a hallway, mission objective changed, we were ordered to retrieve some data from a room that was no more than 2 meters away, seemed convenient." I say remembering the trap.

"Does it get worse?" She asks and I simply nod.

"We enter the room and see there was no data, not even a damn terminal! Burns walks in behind me with Ramirez and spots C7 on the wall, he tackles me and takes the full force of the blast and I was thrown into the corner of the room. Shortly after a group of Batarians came in and executed Ramirez with no mercy, I was pissed and shot the leader with my shotgun while Burns killed the rest."

Tears are falling from my eyes by this point and landing on the table and I feel a lump forming in my throat.

"I-I went to check his wounds and I yelled at him that he would make it, he told me to give em hell then died in my arms, that man saved my life and I was lay in that room, the last damn one alive!" I am practically screaming at this point.

I was so caught up in the memories that I didn't notice her swing round to my booth and sit next to me, I was going to question her but she put her hand on my shoulder reassuringly, I start to calm down a bit and start to hear her speak.

"Kieran, calm down, you're not there anymore and Burns obviously would want you to move on and continue fighting in his memory, not mope around like this, okay?" Her voice was now even softer, almost a whisper.

I feel the sadness fading at her words until it is only a fraction of what it used to be, I feel a lot better now and me being the very strange person I am, pull her into a quick hug that only lasts a few seconds but her body is still very warm and I can still feel it when I pull away.

"Do you want to head back?" I ask as my breakdown had completely killed the fun, carefree attitude and I curse myself for doing so.

"Yea, if you want we can do it again sometime?" She says and I am shocked.

"Y-yea sure." I manage to say after much difficulty and I quickly down my Coke.

Oh yea did I mention Coke tastes a hell of a lot better than it used too, I'm assuming it's because of all the new herbs that have been discovered but by god I could drink it for the rest of my life, before I didn't like it or hate it because I loved Mountain Dew.

Now contra to the stereotype, I am not a redneck in fact I'm British so how would that even work?

I visited California one time and ordered it out of curiosity and got addicted but this new coke was the bomb, I start to wonder if Mountain Dew tastes even better now.

The walk back is significantly less warm, thank god, I don't know how any Human could function constantly in this, like the children that were in Africa, hmm I wonder if the still do those _Water for poor children_ adverts.

_Probably._

I open up my Omni-Tool and decide to download my music library as before I had a huge taste in certain music and I have a certain feeling that current-pop music isn't going to be that popular with me.

I spend a couple of hours doing that and my music library is as follows.

**Daughtry**

**Albums: Daughtry, Leave this Town (Tour Edition), Break the Spell (Deluxe Version)**

**Blink-182**

**Songs: Dammit, When I was Young**

**Hollywood Undead**

**Albums: Swan Songs, Desperate Measures, American Tragedy, Notes from the Underground**

**Hurts**

**Songs: Miracle, Stay**

**Bastille**

**Songs: Icarus, Pompeii**

**Skillet**

**Songs: Comatose, Hero, Monster**

**Eminem**

**Songs: Till I Collapse, Lose Yourself, Not Afraid, When I'm Gone, Mockingbird**

**Train**

**Song: Drive By**

I set the music to shuffle and my Omni-Tool decides to set the song to Till I Collapse and I smile, I start singing along quietly to myself as I lie on my bed, we have a week before the actual training starts and I have longer as I have to get my Biotic Amp fitted.

I wonder what that feeling was back in the café, that feeling in my chest, I've only had it twice, I suddenly felt happy but not in that sense.

Hmm.

**AN: If anyone knows what that feeling is pm me what you think it is ;) please leave a review as I'm trying hard to be consistent with my updates and I feel I tried quite hard on this chapter today and remember I'm still taking OC marine entries, PEACE**


	5. Plans

I open my eyes and all I can see is a howling darkness, it consumes everything around it like a supermassive black hole, nothing could escape the maw of this darkness, it is almost as if I am at the exact centre of the Galaxy, unable to escape, trapped by the smothering darkness.

I see a bright light in the distance that cuts through the abyss like a katana's blade and I try to move towards it, however I am impeded by something grasping at my leg.

I look back in fright at the sudden resistance and see the diseased body of Sergeant Burns trying to pull me further down into the darkness, his arm is ghastly, the flesh is peeling away and sores oozing disgusting green pus are revealed as it comes more into view.

I lash out with my leg in an attempt to try and fend off the "Zombie" of my old squad-leader, I am unsuccessful then it grabs my other leg revealing much to My horror that where it should have eyes there are merely giant black cavities and I feel like throwing up at the putrid smell of his rotting flesh, I gag multiple times before composing myself and lashing out once more.

I finally manage to free myself from the persistent corpse and scramble to stand up, I make a run for the light that had initially made me let my guard down and when I come within five meters of it I see something even more peculiar.

Upon three plinths lie three different weapons and I needn't strain my eyes to see them thanks to the overpowering light that covers the small three meter area of the plinths.

I scan the plinths and identify the choices I have.

The first is a sort of energy shield, much like the ones the Jackals carry in the Halo series however I have the feeling it would be pretty useless for executing an enemy as it would require a great amount of effort.

The second is a lot more tempting to take, it is a Scottish Claymore covered in scratches and chips in the metal however I know that if I were to use it my swings would have to be perfectly executed as a weapon like that would easily cause me to be put off balance easily if I swing incorrectly.

The final one is the most appealing by a mile, or twenty. A sharpened machete that looks capable of cutting through flesh and bone in an instant, it could probably slice through sheet metal too but I'm not eager to test that soon as I don't feel like losing it.

I grasp it firmly and I am delighted by its weight, so light I could swing it as if it were an extension of my own arm, I swing it a few times and my initial thoughts on it are correct. The handle is made out of some sort of wood and the blade could be made out of titanium for all I know however I notice the end of it is stained in a strange blue liquid.

I look all around me and cover a full 360 degrees, I see nothing but then suddenly I hear an ambient sound and in all honesty I could only describe it as the noise a Reaper would make when you piss it off but it's different somehow, I can't put my finger on it though.

I hear several deranged moans and fear paralyzes me momentarily and I am glued to the spot, I see several figures running at me from out of the darkness.

I take a rushed step back and hold the blade at the incoming hostiles, they keep going despite this and I prepare to fight for my life.

I squint and notice they are Husks and I now immediately feel fear creep into my stomach like a spider.

The first swings at me with its arm in a feral, savage fashion and I sidestep to avoid it then I swing diagonally going up and I manage to decapitate the Husk spraying a disgusting blue liquid all over the blade and my face.

I wipe my face with my sleeve however this costs me dearly as a Husk takes my distraction as an opportunity to strike.

It starts scratching at me and I only manage to hold it off from tearing at my skin by using my machete to hold it back.

I try to shove it off me and it just try's harder to kill me, I hear a loud crack and the husk goes limp, I turn around and see nothing but something killed it.

Three more circle me and they all run at me in unison and I know I am finished…

I shoot up from my bed, I'm sweating heavily and I am shaking like I had caught hypothermia, that wasn't a normal nightmare I can still feel the marks that Husk left, I felt all of it..

I stand up and decide to hit the showers…

I stand in the showers and turn on the hot water, it massages my skin and starts to peel away at all the dead skin on my body. I quickly wash myself and exit the shower, I only briefly dry myself.

I don't think I can do this, N7, I think it's too much for me, maybe I should just retire and live on the Citadel, join C-Sec, actually that sounds like it could work.

Wait what am I thinking?

I need to get my Biotic Amp first and then I can do that, so for now I will have to wait 6 days and then I will leave, what will my excuse be?

I guess I should keep an FNJ (Fucking New Journal) If I'm the FNG (Fucking New Guy) even if I won't be staying for that long, I can't deal with the loses of my comrades any more, hell it may stop me joining up with Shepard, NO I won't let that happen I just need to join C-Sec and then when 2183 swings round I will do everything in my power to get on Shepard's crew.

So then I start planning…..

I will leave a note under Amanda's pillow the night before I leave considering nobody else really knows me at all and then I will leave for the Citadel and apply for C-Sec, I would be ex-Alliance Military so I can shoot already and I have respect for higher authority so they should at least consider me able for the role.

I need to learn how to use a sniper, I've never used one before and I doubt that I will be any good on the first attempt, maybe I will considering I got the hang of all the other weapons relatively quickly although that was mainly due to the skill of the Corporal who's body I'm currently hijacking.

I hope the job doesn't turn me into someone like Harkin though, that guy was a complete jerk-off drunken loser and adding drinking to my situation wouldn't be ideal.

Once I get fitted I will drop out and join C-Sec, its settled.

**AN: Hey guys thanks for reading, don't forget to review and follow/favourite so you can be alerted to updates in the near or far future, thanks again PEACE**


	6. Asendance

June 7th 2177

**Location: SSV Thermopylae **

My Biotic amp was fitted and I spiked as the highest power Biotic in the whole program, I'm pretty sure I could even kill a whole squad of Krogan if I got pissed off enough.

I decided I was being stupid and that Burns would want me to continue fighting for the memories of everyone, I still remember that day perfectly. I had been promoted to Sergeant after finishing the N7 program.

I look at the Datapad on my table, the white walls of my cabin reflect the light from my terminal like the moon does for the son, the Datapad has some odd records on it and I fail to hear the door open behind me until I hear a gruff cough and I spin round only to see Captain Hernandez looking at me expectantly.

I instantly salute him and my body is tense, much like his, he has a frown stuck on his face which isn't a surprise however this one looks more serious than usual.

"At ease Sergeant, I'm sending you and Lieutenant Shepard down to the surface of the planet we're orbiting, we lost contact with the Pioneer team down there and I want you and her to find out what the hell is going on down there." He furrows his brow when he said to find out what is going on.

_Shepard? She's here? I need to make sure she survives or I'm fucked anyway._

"Of course sir, what planet?" I ask and he rubs his chin.

"It's Akuze." He says simply and my mind flashes, an image of a Thresher Maw clouds my vision.

_Shit, Akuze, I don't even know if I will survive this but I need to try and save some of the Marines or I couldn't ever live with myself._

I nod and say.

"I'll get it done sir, what sort of support will we be getting?" I ask, my voice full of hope that we may get a few Makos or even a shuttle.

"You won't get any armour Evans, this is a recon mission i want you geared up and ready to hit the ground in fifteen minutes." Hernandez demands and I notice all the wrinkles on his forehead, probably from the stress of being a Commanding Officer.

"Yes sir, I'll be there in ten." I say and salute him before he exits the quiet room, leaving me to my own devices.

I look at my Onyx X armour, it is covered in battle scars and chips received from multiple conflicts with slavers, I remember when I first got into combat but I needn't dwell on it for my sanity's sake.

I grab my Stinger X and strap it to the mag-lock located on my hip and it clips snugly into place giving me a new found confidence.

This pistol has followed me through N1-N7 and I don't plan on losing it soon as it would actually hurt me to lose something so precious to me.

I also then take my new assault rifle, the Banshee X and I smile at the beautiful coat of paint, splashed onto the body of the lethal weapon and it seems to gleam at me in response to my gaze, I clamp it onto my back and after seeing it is securely clipped on I move on.

I take my sniper next, an Avenger X, Alexia had taught me how to use it effectively and I became a very good shot, not as good as her or Garrus but you know?

I take my final piece of weaponry and I see that it is a Katana IX Shotgun, I didn't manage to buy the X because my pocket was a little empty but this baby has helped me mow down Krogan before and I'm not eager to get rid of it.

I grab my helmet and with both hands holding the sides, I lower it down onto my head and hear the seals hissing, confirming that I won't die if I get spaced or land on a planet with no atmosphere.

I exit my quarters with a new spring in my step, or should I say strut? I got a few looks of awe from the regular marines however I think it was more due to the N7 on my chest rather than the actual equipment I'm carrying.

I step into the Cargo bay which houses the shuttles that would take me down onto the surface of that accursed planet that I always hated during my playthroug-

_NO KIERAN! This isn't a game anymore so stop thinking of it as such, you can die here, no respawns, game over so fucking remember that! _I yell at myself in my head.

I nod to myself and I see Lieutenant Ellie Shepard and I walk over to her, she flashes me a smile as I approach, she crosses her arms and her fiery red hair echoes the atmosphere I'm feeling.

Her haunted green eyes meet my steel blue and I feel something flutter in my stomach like a million seeker swarms.

She's beautiful for sure.

_Dammit Kieran, mind out of the gutter. Now!_

"Another N7, good that makes my job a little easier, what's your name soldier?" She asks and she smiles at me again, I almost melt when she does and I don't even know why.

"Sergeant Evans reporting for duty ma'am!" I say and salute her, she chuckles and I feel the seeker swarms again.

"Sergeant Evans as in, the one who fought in Operation Attrition?" She asks in a shocked voice.

"Yes ma'am, I'm surprised you know me, not many people even know I survived that day." I say as it was a fact, the official reports for same reason stated I was dead.

"Okay for one, don't call me ma'am, it makes me feel old so call me Shepard instead." She says and locks eyes with me again causing the seekers to act up again and to be honest she melts me like an ice cube.

"Okay, you got it Shepard."

**Shepard's Point of View**

"Okay, you got it Shepard." He says in his obvious English accent and it intrigues me.

His helmet disguises his features and I wonder what he looks like underneath it, nothing romantic or whatever, just genuine curiosity.

"Okay and now the second thing, a lot more people know about you than you think Sergeant." I say with a cheeky smile on my face.

"Well Shepard, I would prefer it if you call me Kieran or Evans, whichever floats your boat." He says putting emphasis on his first and second name as if I would get it wrong otherwise.

**Back to Kieran's Point of View**

I smile as I say this however she wouldn't be able to see it under my helmet, she chuckles which takes me off guard completely.

"Okay, Kieran what skills have you got?" She asks with genuine interest and I smile again.

"Well Shepard that's wide spectrum I have covered, I am one of the most powerful Human Biotics however the strength of my power means I can't use it as much as most Biotics, I can use every weapon and use them bloody damn well too."

She looks at me, she seems to be examining me even though I am wearing my helmet.

"Well that's a good thing, you seem like a real asset to this team Kieran." She says with a smile and I melt again.

"Thanks Shepard, however…I have a bad feeling about this mission, have you ever heard of a Thresher Maw?" I ask with audible concern so she knows I'm being serious.

"No Sergeant, is there something you should tell me?" She asks and this time she sounds a little…assertive.

"Well Shepard, I'm friends with a Krogan and he had to do a rite of passage into adulthood like most Krogan do, at the end he had to survive against a Thresher Maw for five minutes, he told me that after he left the home world Tuchunka that he accepted a job on Akuze, the planet we're below now and when he landed he scanned and noticed the planet is covered in Thresher Maw nests." I manage to gasp out in a few breaths of air.

It is a lie about having a Krogan friend but the rest is all true and it may help us survive this shitstorm.

"And what is a Thresher Maw exactly?" She asks, slightly on edge.

"Well…."

**Alex's Point of View**

**Year: 2013**

It's been five weeks since Kieran's disappearance, it's hit us hard, we never laughed as much as we did before and when we did it always sounded forced, how could we laugh when our best friend is gone.

Me and my other friend, Andrew walk into his old room, we see his Xbox flashing which immediately strikes me as odd, I approach it while Andrew just stares and before I turn it off I hear something which hurts my head.

**"Alex Fletcher, Andrew Critchley, your friend Kieran needs you to support him now more than ever! Prepare to ascend!"**

"Alex did you just hear someone speak into your head not your ears your head?" Andrew asked with confusion.

"Yep did it say prepare to ascend?" I replied as a shiver went up my spine to my brain.

"Well Alex don't know about you but I can't damn fly. But look at the console his me3 is out and opened and we are hearing voices. £250 say were going to die." He said with his capitalist grin on his face.

"Well Andrew if we make this out alive were going to launch Kieran though a window right?" I asked with curiosity.

"Damn right we are you can launch him after I'm done with him, Because he is going to wish he didn't vanish" He replied with a serious look on his face like the meme of the guy with the hand gesture in front of his mouth before he said anything.

There was a bright light and I started to move without me walking and it felt like being in front of a TV and watching Star Wars before they hyper spaced to the next location. I started to ascend and I let it were as Andrew was holding onto Kieran's bed leg and dragging the bed with him and shouting.

"You won't get me without a fight you mystical bastard. COME AT ME BRO!"

I feel lightheaded before my vision fades and blackness engulfs my sight now I know how Andrew feels with his sight at long distances except from Battlefield 3 of course …

**Kieran's Point of View**

I step off the shuttle with Shepard to my left, we were told by the Captain to be careful but how can you be careful when you're walking into a fucking Thresher Maw nest.

I pull out my Banshee X and I let out a deep breath as three other marines exit behind us and step out of the shuttle.

I look at Shepard again and we are with Echo team, we are tasked with searching the south sector of the colony that has gone dark.

We start walking and my eyes dart from left to right rapidly, I'm alert for the presence of Thresher Maws, my heart is pumping blood all around my body like a piston fuelling the adrenaline rush I can feel coursing through me.

We come to a few Pre-fab buildings and I can't see any bodies, just damage to the buildings, all of the buildings have two things in common, they are covered in acid and they all bare marks from the Thresher's bodies, I'm assuming.

"Stay alert, watch out for hostiles." Shepard calls out to our squad of five marines and I could practically hear the paranoia in her voice.

"Dead, there's nothing here but destroyed Pre-fabs, lets head back." One of the marines identified as Serviceman Parker says with a bored tone.

"Damn it Parker, keep your eyes peeled, we could be ambushed at any moment and we would all die because you aren't watching our six, understand!" I hiss harshly and he tenses up slightly.

"Yes Sergeant." He mutters and starts becoming focused again.

"Toombs, got anything?" Shepard asks, I notice Toombs and recognise him as one of the survivors, in ME at least.

"Negative Ma'am." He mutters and I listen harder for slight disturbances.

I suddenly hear rumbling and before I can shout or alert anyone a huge Thresher Maw bursts out from the ground, sending dirt flying in every direction and it's at least 15 meters tall and I am officially terrified.

I open fire on it in bursts with my Banshee as do the rest of the squad, the heavy gunfire illuminating the dark oily skies of Akuze.

The fire has negligible effect and the Thresher Maw sponges all the fire from our guns, and it begins to simply roar at us menacingly and spits At Parker.

"Parker get out of there!" I scream however it comes too late.

The acid makes contact with the poor marine and he starts too scream as the acid makes contact with his fragile flesh, melting it away with minimal effort until he is merely a pile of goo on the floor, I gape in horror at the sight I had just seen.

I suddenly feel rage course through my veins, mixing with the adrenaline creating one cocktail that fuels my survival.

I holster my assault rifle and pull out my Stinger X from my hip because that way I can use my biotics on the ugly SOB.

I fire a few rounds at the Thresher causing it to get pissed and I see it is tilting its head back ready to spit at me, I dive away from my last position and land hard on the ground.

The Thresher however merely turns to me and is about to spit again but before it does I see Shepard, Toombs and the other surviving marine open fire again, distracting it from me so I quickly clamber to my feet again.

I focus my biotic energy and I can feel a powerful tingling up my spine, I open my palm and a giant orb of biotic energy is formed.

I throw the Warp at the Thresher Maw and it curls into the open mouth of the Thresher Maw, the only place that is considered a weak spot as far as most things are concerned, it thrashes around in pain but is quickly on the offensive again meanwhile the squad had been firing at it the entire time.

I see the Thresher prepare to spit at me again and I immediately start running; it spits and the acid is flying towards me still.

"Fuck that!" I yell and dive onto the floor so the acid sails over my prone form instead of corroding my entire body.

I see the Thresher turn around and go to spit at Toombs, I quickly, in response launch a throw at the marine and he flies out of the acid's splash radius.

The Thresher Maw suddenly burrows underground and my heart stops for a split second, I didn't know who it was going to go for…how could I even run if it went for me, simple I couldn't.

I am slightly for some twisted reason relieved when it surfaces but what I see it do does not make me relieved I see it use one of its weird body parts to rip the other squad member in half and he dies pretty quickly after that.

I am suddenly extremely pissed off again and I grab every grenade I can off of my belt and throw them all at the giant predator, they latch on and explode one after another. The explosions go off with an ear splitting sound, sending shrapnel into the beast, cutting it open like a rich man with a mail opener knife opening his Saturday mail. The beast lets out an ear piercing roar as it quickly loses the strength to keep its body held upright and falls to the ground, letting out a pool of thick gruesome green blood from its multiple wounds and dying from loss of blood.

**Okay guys, this chapter took a while and I put a lot of effort into it, thanks for reading, I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as humanly possible however I may not be able too as I have plans in irl. :) –BioticStories.**

AN 2:** WILL ANDREW AND ALEX REUNITE WITH KIERAN WILL KIERAN AND SHEPARD GET OFF AKUZE ALIVE. WILL ANDREW STILL BE HANGING ONTO THAT BED ON THE WAY TO THE MASS EFFECT UNIVERSE? WELL IF YOU WANT TO KNOW YOU CAN EITHER GET ANDREW DRUNK AND HE WILL TELL YOU OR YOU CAN WAIT AND NOT BE POOR AFTER SPENDING ALL THAT MONEY ON ANDREW AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER DONT FORGET TO REVIEW FAVORITE THE STORY AND AUTHOR AND FOLLOW THE STORY AND AUTHOR AND IF YOUVE FAVORITED AND FOLLOWED US THEN WELL DONE YOU GET INFITE DIGI COKKIES FOREVER BUT IF YOU HAVENT DO IT THEN-Andrew**

**AN 3: WRITTEN BY BIOTICSTORIES AND IMPROVED BY THE-UNKNOWN91 ALSO THE-UNKNOWN91 IS MAKING A BRAND NEW FIC BASED ON THE AWESOME THRILLING DEVIOUSLY PLOT TWISTING T.V SHOW VIKINGS AND I AS THE-UNKNOWN91 WANT YOU TO READ IT AND ALSO WATCH THE T.V SHOW AS IT IS PLAIN AWESOME SO DONT FORGET TO READ MY FICS AND BIOTICSTORIES ASWELL. PEACE OUT PEEPS-Andrew**


	7. Temporary Leave

Everything rushes by in a blur and suddenly we are regrouped with around 40 surviving Marines who are firing randomly in all directions, this behaviour is brought on by their fear however they shouldn't do that because their weapons could overheat therefore endangering their lives and the lives of their fellow marines.

We are surrounded by several Thresher Maws, each seeming bigger than the last and acid flies in all directions, I can hear the occasional marine screaming in agony before he is either ripped to shreds or melted by the deadly acid of our dangerous enemies, and it chills me to the bone.

I turn around, my assault rifle raised and I see a glob of acid soaring towards me, I know it will reach me before I can dive out of the way and I embrace what is to be my painful, agonising death.

"Sergeant!" I hear a yell and feel something impact my left side, hard and it knocks the wind out of me then sends me flying to the right.

I see Shepard standing over me and she is firing her assault rifle which is making an audible chirp, in the direction of the Thresher Maw that attacked me.

I quickly stand up after re-gaining my motor-functions.

"Shepard we need to get out of here now!" I yell, my voice straining.

"There's an LZ about a mile from here but the other Marines won't make it if we leave."

I feel pain erupt up my back and I fall to the floor in a heap…

I wake and I immediately feel the pain wash over me, like a tsunami, it is unbearable and I force my eyes open.

I see a doctor milling about, most likely running tests on me and I lean forward.

"Doctor, I'm up." I say.

She turns and I see that she slightly resembles but not quite at the same time.

"Good, the Lieutenant dragged you back to the Landing Zone by herself and made sure you were stable." She says as if it was no big deal.

"Did anyone else survive?" I say and I imagine my voice is filled with hope.

She looks away from me slightly and sets down her Datapad on the desk in front of her, she walks over to my side and sighs.

"I'm sorry Sergeant but nobody else except you and the Lieutenant got off that world alive." She says.

All my hope, that someone survived is shattered in an instant and replaced by intense feelings of regret and sorrow, regret that I couldn't use my information to save them even though I tried, sorrow for their family and friends who will have to live without them just to be told they were killed by a bunch of overgrown worms.

"Can I go?" I say, my voice sounds hollow even to me and she nods slowly.

"The Lieutenant told you to go see her before the Captain debriefs you, so I suggest heading there first." She advises and I only nod in response.

I stand up although I struggle for a few seconds to do so, I quickly exit the Med-Bay and head for the XO cabin.

I enter without knocking, some may consider it rude but I wasn't in the mood pleasantries.

* * *

**Shepard's Point of View**

All those men, dead because I stopped to help one wounded soldier, not that I regret helping him I mean if I didn't he'd be dead now but I just wish some other men could've got off that rock alive.

He's the one who warned us about all those giant killer worms on Akuze, we didn't take him seriously and we paid for it in blood.

I hear my cabin door open and for the first time I manage to get a good look at the Sergeant, he is a handsome man for sure.

He has short, neat dirty blonde hair and his eyes are a steel grey however something in those eyes make him look hollow or cold, possibly the effects of the mission as I surely don't feel all that good about it.

I notice a scar tracing down from his left eye to his cheek, it isn't too deep but it's still noticeable.

"Shepard, you wanted to see me?" He says and as I expected his voice echoes my thoughts and he sounds broken, hollow.

"I just wanted to talk about what happened down there, take a seat." I say, trying to be as friendly as possible despite my own feelings of regret and grief.

"Look, Shepard thanks for being all nice to me and everything but I'm the reason those men died, no doubt and you know that." He says and the way he says it, not to mention the fact he's blaming himself pisses me off slightly.

"Look Sergeant, I made the call to save your life and it's not my fault or yours, in fact we should probably blame the brass for not taking your warning seriously." I say with a slight edge to my voice.

"Thanks Shepard, and call me Kieran as I won't be a Sergeant for much longer." He says which piques my curiosity.

"Hmm, why not?" I ask.

"I'm leaving the Alliance, I don't think I can handle it anymore, it will be temporary, maybe a few years to collect myself. I don't know." He says and I notice the depressed note his voice carries.

"Well Kieran, you're a good guy and I only want what's best for you, what're you planning on doing?" I ask and his eyes light up a bit at that question.

"I'm hoping to join C-Sec, that way I can still protect people." He says.

He seems to be one of those people that need to be in a role where they can protect people or serve them in a good way, I like those kind of people, they're most likely willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause and they don't think of themselves as superior to others.

"Well, if I ever get Shore Leave on the Citadel maybe we could go for drinks or something?" I ask and I surprise myself at the invitation I just gave, he looks equally shocked although he masks it well.

"Sure thing Shepard, I look forward to it." He says with a smile that makes me feel warm.

"Please call me Ellie, seeing as you're not going to be Alliance for much longer I think when nobody else is around we can skip the formalities."

I notice he is wearing dog-tags around his neck and I wasn't going to say anything until I realise they are made out of metal.

"Thanks Ellie." He says with an even wider smile this time.

"Those dog-tags are made of metal, they must be pretty old." I say.

He looks down slightly and holds one of the tags in his hand, he looks deep in thought for a few moments then looks up at me.

"They belonged to one of my great grandfathers, Johnny Evans, he served for the British Royal Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq from around 2004 to about 2012 before he died." He says and I swear I see a flicker of sadness cross his face but it is gone before I can say for sure.

"I see." I say.

"So where are you from Ellie?" He says which catches me off guard.

"I'm a Spacer, I was raised on board star ships my entire life, not much interesting about that to be honest with you, what about you?" I say with a bored undertone emphasising my point.

"I was born and raised in London all my life, I joined the Alliance Military hoping to make a difference." He says with a smile.

Suddenly a voice comes over the inter-com.

"Lieutenant Shepard, Sergeant Evans, the Captain wishes to speak to you two immediately."

"Thanks Steph." I say to the pilot.

I stand up and walk to the debriefing room as if on auto-pilot and I notice Kieran simply follows me.

Once in I expect the Captain to chew us out for failing the mission however he looks solemn.

"Lieutenant, Sergeant how are you both holding up?" He asks and he has not a frown but a sad look plastered across his face.

"Fine considering." I say and Kieran stays silent.

The conversation was boring and the Captain accepted Kieran's request to leave then received a message from Admiral Hackett that said he could leave but only temporarily, as soon as September 2178 comes he will be expected to come back to the Alliance as his contract officially ends in 2184 but he was allowed to take leave to set his head straight after Akuze, I don't want to do that as I want to keep going in memory of those who died regardless of the fact it is difficult.

* * *

**Five Weeks Later.**

**Kieran's Point of View.**

I manage to beat the morning rush hour traffic by getting up early and speeding, not literally however I may point out to the C-Sec Academy.

I exit the sky-car and I'm wearing my standard issue light armour, the Executor had accepted my application however the problem was finding me a partner, most of the people in C-Sec wouldn't work for a human so it was down to a few select individuals, one of them I'm assuming to be Garrus Vakarian.

I enter the Academy and a few human officers wave at me and I wave back, the Turians however mostly stare at me in disgust.

I walk up the stairs, passing a few Salarians as I go and they say hi to me which I return.

I turn the corner and bump into someone.

I stand up and see an Asari on the floor, I extend my hand to her and she takes it so I help her up.

"My apologies, I didn't watch where I was going." I say, trying to be as smooth as possible after my obvious slip up.

"It is quite alright, I did not pay attention either, wait a moment aren't you the new Human officer who was just recruited." She asks and her tone is very formal but not annoyingly so like it would be normally in fact the way she speaks is soothing to me.

"You caught me red handed ma'am, Kieran Evans, Ex-Alliance N7 and now C-Sec." I say with a smile and she returns it.

"Shiana T'Lari, Ex-Asari Commando and now C-Sec." She says, mimicking the way I introduced myself causing me to chuckle.

"Well Shiana as much as I would like to stick around and chat, the Executor needs to see me so, I'll see you around." I say and she nods.

I walk into the Executor's office and he notices me immediately.

"Ah, Officer Evans, please sit down." He says and I notice whenever dealing with Humans his tone is almost mocking, I have the suspicion he is slightly racist.

"Thank you sir." I say and take my seat which is surprisingly comfortable.

"Well Officer Evans we have managed to find you a group of other Officers to work with." He says and my face betrays my confusion.

"Officers' sir? I thought C-Sec officers only worked in groups of two?" I ask.

"Mostly you are right, however C-Sec is undergoing changes, you will be slated into a group of four officers, they should be here shortly."

I hear the door open and I don't look, I am slightly worried about who I will be grouped with.

"You will be working with Officer Vakarian, Detective Chellick and Officer T'lari for a short time to see if you can work well as a team, if this proves successful you will be more permanently assigned together." The Executor tells us.

"Yes sir." I say calmly even though one of my favourite characters in Mass Effect is standing right behind me.

"Good, I will be sending you to patrol the Wards for a bit, you can learn things about each over and then you may be able to work better as a team, dismissed." He orders.

I stand up and all four of us walk out and I see the two Turians eyeing me like a piece of meat and I just laughed.

"See something you like lads?" I ask as a joke and if Turians could blush they would probably be doing it.

"No, just curious about your abilities." They say in unison much to my surprise, it's almost as if they were brothers.

"I can tell you about my abilities, I am an Ex-N7 soldier, I have experimental Biotic implants making me as strong as an Asari, however this means my Biotic Stamina is worse than it should be, I can use every weapon in my arsenal and use them effectively too." I list making them nod.

"Well I guess introductions are in order." Garrus says with a chuckle and his sub-harmonics make me shiver, I had seen Turians but never directly spoke to them and the Executor was so dull his sub-harmonics didn't really exist.

"Well as you know I'm Kieran Evans, I hail from Earth, I joined the Alliance Marines at 18 and took part in Operation Attrition where my entire squad died, my superior officer and friend Commander Smith recommended me for N7 training. I got shipped out to the training facilities and met a squad of soldiers there, most of them are MIA now except for one, I finished my training and was ordered down to Akuze with Lieutenant Commander Shepard where we fought for our lives against dozens of Thresher Maws, I was wounded and she dragged me to the LZ, we were the only ones to get out alive." I finish my long winded introduction and they look awed.

"Damn you are one tough son of a bitch to kill." Garrus says with a chuckle and his mandibles flair, the Turian equivalent of a smile.

"More than you know." I mutter.

I blank out Garrus's introduction as I know a lot about him and to be honest I feel wrong, I feel sick, like I could throw up at any moment and I find that I had blanked out Chellick by mistake and Shiana starts hers.

"My name is Shiana T'lari, I was born on Thessia where my mother who is a Turian worked as a Police Officer and my father as an Asari Commando, I get most of my things from my mother however. I joined up when I was 100 and served in the Commandos' for 20 years then joined up with C-Sec a few years ago, I am now 127." She says.

"Damn! I'm only 25!" I yell and realise it had been seven long years since I had been dragged into the Mass Effect Universe and stuffed inside the body of an 18 year old Marine, his conscience seemed to mix with mine during my time in N7, now we are one and the same, no longer two minds in one body but one mind.

"I'm 34 and Chellick here is 27." Garrus says off-hand.

"So guys are we gonna patrol the Wards or what?" I ask.

"Okay let's go." Chellick says.

We take the rapid transport to the Wards and it isn't long before we get out and start patrolling, I should've brought more firepower with me today however I thought I would be patrolling the Presidium again so I only brought my Stinger X and I was wearing Gladiator X light armour.

We walk standing next to each over and a few of the Batarians eye me with murderous glares which I return in kind after thinking of Burns, I shake my head and try to forget for now.

I suddenly hear shouting and turn my head, I see several Batarians holding up the Markets and one Batarian has his gun in the air firing, this forces the crowd to drop to the floor and we are outside the door so they haven't seen us, my Hostage Rescue training kicks in again.

"Chellick, Shiana, find a way round and find another entrance, signal us when you're in position the we will all breach and take down the hostiles, got it?" I say immediately assuming a leadership role.

They nod and sneak round the back alleys.

I see that he is preparing to kill hostages but for the moment he isn't ready, his body language shows he is tense, as if he knows that they don't give him what they want then he won't get anywhere so he will stick to scaring them into submission.

"Kieran, Garrus we are in position, get ready to enter." Chellick says down the comm.

I pull out my Stinger while Garrus retrieves a Lancer X from his back and we stack up on opposite sides of the door so we can enter at the same time.

Garrus speaks.

"On my mark we enter, Three. Two. One, mark!"

I enter first and see three Batarians with guns that are an immediate threat so I am for the one with the pistol first.

I aim down my sights and the adrenaline seems to make me go faster while everything else goes slower, this allows me to fire first and I send three shots down range, the first falters on his shield generator as he doesn't have armour, the second breaks the low-tech shield and the third hits its mark and leaves a clean hole in his head.

I smirk but immediately look to my right and see Garrus has taken down the second, we both focus on the last one and Garrus lets out a long burst of fire while I send four shots down range and his shields are shredded as well as his body.

I look up and see that Shiana and Chellick have got one survivor ready for interrogation which makes me smirk and I see the rapid response vehicles land outside.

* * *

It takes us an hour to get back to the Academy where I am drinking a cup of tea and Garrus has some Dextro-Amino Coffee which he sips at cautiously as if he was scared it would burn him if he drank it too quickly.

"So Kieran, where are you staying?" He asks.

"A Hotel until I can scrape together enough Credits to rent my own place." I say with a downcast look.

"Well I have a spare room you could use if you wanted, my father brought me my own place here on the Citadel." He offers and my inner nerd almost squeals and I have to hide my excitement with a Grade-A poker face.

"That would be great Garrus however I couldn't ask that of you." I say with a slightly honourable tone.

"Don't be like that Kieran, it's been ages since someone interesting has actually come to C-Sec plus I think the bed would be a lot more comfy than then the ones in that hotel.

I go beet red and he must notice this because he coughs.

"Spare bedroom."

I sigh in relief and we finally leave the Academy, I don't know where I'm going so I merely follow Garrus as I didn't really have much in the way of clothing, I would have to rectify that soon.

We make our way into his Apartment and I am in awe, the kitchen is spacious and the living room even more so with a huge television on the wall, there are a few corridors on the right that I'm assuming leads to the bed rooms.

He literally heads straight to bed and points me to the spare room, I stumble inside and strip out my C-Sec uniform and put my Under-Layer in the automatic Wash/Dryer so when I wake up in the morning it will be clean.

I collapse onto the bed and true to his word it is a lot more comfy than the hotel ones by a mile, or twenty, I literally sink into it and it feels heavenly.

I turn on my Omni-Tool and flick through the many glowing displays until I find my music library again.

I downloaded some Deuce songs when I first came to the Citadel, my music taste seems to be getting more and more violent/aggressive and I turn on Till I Drop- Deuce

This helps lull me to sleep despite the lyrics being about hate and sex it comforts me slightly in a weird twisted way.

I see pools of green liquid all around me, I am cautious not to touch it as it looks like acid, I look around me and I hear ear-piercing screams that make me fall to my knees and clutch my head, they are blood curdling, they sound awfully familiar and I realize they are the Marines from Akuze…

**AN: Longest chapter I've ever wrote and now the story is getting interesting, I managed to write this in three hours which to me is incredible but thanks for reading and please leave a review about your thoughts.**


	8. Insanity

**Now Playing: Device-Vilify and Hollywood Undead-Street Dreams **

******Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact same fucking thing over and over again expecting shit to change. That is crazy- Vaas Montenegro**

* * *

I wake up and my hands shake wildly as if I had suddenly had my body temperature plummet in my sleep, I'm gasping for air and my breathing is panicked, erratic and I stand up, this causes my head to spin and I go into a spin caused by my loss of balance then I fall backwards.

I feel my head slam into the wall and the pain erupts up through my system, it hurts like hell and I immediately put pressure on the spot where I hit with both my hands in an effort to stem the pain.

I nearly throw up as I feel a wave of nausea wash over me however I force the bile down and stop myself vomiting.

The pain slowly fades after a few minutes of pressure and I fall forward onto my knees, my hands also supporting my weight, I decide to check the time on my Omni-Tool as my shift starts at 7:00 AM CST (Citadel Standard Time) and the familiar orange interface springs to life on my wrist.

I flick through the various applications and Extra-Net windows, I eventually exit and see the time displayed on the centre in huge bold text saying 5:30 CST and I sigh knowing my nightmare had indeed awoken me too early however I continue on and stand up after a lot of effort.

I drag my body which feels devoid of life or energy out of the spare bedroom provided by Garrus and I still can't believe I am living with one of my favourite characters from the Mass Effect games despite the fact I had accepted this isn't a game anymore it still feels very surreal to me.

I manage to find the shower after a while and I enter without knocking, I immediately feel dread when I do this, however the feeling fades after I fail to find a naked Turian in the shower and I let out a huge sigh of relief as I don't swing that way and it would be amazingly awkward.

I step inside the rectangular cubical and turn on the hot water, it shoots out in a heated jet and starts assaulting my body like the Trebuchets of a medieval French army against the walls of an enemy castle, except this doesn't have a negative effect on me, quite the opposite actually.

I feel the dead skin being washed off my body by the aggressive jet of water and I start to wash various areas of my body and I remember I hadn't showered in a few days as the hotel I had stayed at was having trouble with hot water after a pipeline rupture.

I had forgotten how much I missed the sensation in such a short time and I finally step out after a much enjoyed twenty minutes in the small cubical.

I grab the towel provided by my well-humoured Turian friend and dry my body quickly and I don't doubt that I missed a few areas, mostly on my back, I quickly step out with the towel wrapped around my waste and walk into the wash/dryer room where I quickly collect my Under-Layer.

I slip it on and quickly retreat back into the spare room where I collect my Gladiator X armour, I feel my stomach quiver with weakness and I get the weird warm sensation I normally get when I'm hungry and I don't know if anyone else feels like that when they are hungry.

I ponder this for a moment and dismiss it as me just being weird as I've never heard anyone describe it as such before so that seems to be more than enough evidence considering I can't be bothered to look it up on the Extra-net.

I grab my trusty Stinger-X pistol off of the table next to my bed, I keep it there in case someone tries to break in, I know I'm paranoid but still I can't take any chances these days with everything going to hell with Akuze and whatnot.

I quickly attach it to the mag-lock on my hip and sigh at the name of that accursed planet.

I also grab my collapsible Banshee-X and make it collapse to its minimum and most compact size, it looks very small and definitely not like a top of the line lethal weapon, funny how times change I guess.

I finally grab my Katana X that I managed to save up for after Akuze and I pawned off my old one for it, I attach the two weapons onto my back and exit the spare room again, I smell food and I walk into the kitchen/dining room.

I see Garrus who is already finished equipping all his gear and he is sat at the table with, wait what the fuck? Dextro bacon and eggs?

"Morning Kieran, sleep well?" Garrus greets me politely, his sub-harmonics make a normal warm, pleasant greeting even warmer and I don't have the heart to depress him with the tale of my rude awakening which lead to me whacking my head on the wall.

"Yea Garrus, what about you mate?" I shoot back as happily as possible but I think he notices the slight darkness in my tone but he has the kindness not to mention it.

"I slept quite well, how was the bed, suited for Humans at all?" He says with a chuckle and I smile.

I grab some cereal out of one of the cupboards and the label reads "Levo-Amino".

I pour it into a bowel until it is adequately filled and then grab some Levo milk from his fridge, I pour that into the mix and sit down with a spoon and take small bites as I still feel a bit nauseous.

"It was a little hard but not too bad mate." I say with a forced smile and he chuckles at that.

"That's probably because it's not build for you soft Humans, it's built for Turians." He says with a smile showing he doesn't mean offence and I wouldn't even if he did because it's true that Humans are soft in comparison to Turians.

"True, then again I wouldn't expect Turians to know the first thing about comfort, most of you Raptors have a stick up your asses." I say with a chuckle as the last of the cereal disappears.

His mandibles flair wildly at this and I hope it's out of laughter and to my relief he lets out a chuckle.

"Wow, any other Turian would of got offended at that but I know you are joking, so I'll let it slide." He says and I suddenly think of Garrus as a dictator who didn't execute someone and cut their arm of instead.

"How, very generous of you…" I drawl out, extending every syllable.

"I know, I am a very generous person." He says and his mandibles flair again causing me to laugh.

I stand up and dump my empty bowl in the sink while he does the same with is plate and I make a mental note that I need to buy some more interesting Levo-Amino food than just cereal, I can't blame Garrus though considering he's a Turian and he can't eat Levo in the first place.

We both exit his apartment at the same time and start the ten minute walk to the C-Sec Academy, as soon as we arrive outside the elevator I feel a sense of pride at knowing I'm part of the elite peacekeeping force albeit only until I get called back to the Alliance but still that is irrelevant.

We enter and the Human officers give me a few respectful nods and some even call my name and I wave back at them, some of them only know me because of Akuze unfortunately.

"So Garrus, what are we doing at the start of the day?" I ask with curiosity.

"We need to fill out the documents for our latest prisoner's interrogation otherwise any evidence we turn up will be voided." He says with disgust and I feel for him.

"Gotta love that red tape eh Garrus?" I say sarcastically and he seems to frown at this.

"Not when it prevents me from doing my job I don't." He seems to snarl back and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"It was sarcasm mate, to be honest I agree with you, the red tape impedes our attempts to protect innocent lives." I say and he seems to calm down at that.

I always agreed with Garrus's View on C-Sec policies, I imagine I'm going to hate the red tape, my Shepard always made him try out for Spectre training even though it doesn't go well for him and then he ends up on Omega but… I'm getting side-tracked.

"Okay, let's go fill out those forms so we can get some answers out of that bastard." He snarls again and I agree with him, we sit down and start to fill out the mountain of forms required.

* * *

**5 Minutes later.**

My hand feels like it's cramped, we had to fill in about fifty, odd forms about the way we will do our interrogation which seems weird considering most interrogations are done the spot.

We then stand up and walk over to the interrogation room and the Salarian Enforcer outside the room quickly recognises us.

"Ah, Officer Vakarian, Officer Evans, prisoner inside, refuses to talk, might need to loosen his tongue a little." He says with a smile.

"Cheers mate, we're going in now." I inform him and he unlocks the door.

We walk in and immediately the Batarian inside snarls at us with pure hate and I smirk at his helplessness.

"Okay, what's your name first?" I say calmly.

He spits in my direction and I sidestep to avoid it which makes him growl at me in rage.

"Now, now that wasn't very polite was it? If you fail to comply I will need to have my friend Officer Vakarian take over and he is a lot less forgiving." I say with a smirk but he smiles too.

"I know you Human, death follows you, everyone who follows you dies, how did it feel to watch your entire squad die on Dantius or on Akuze, where your incompetence caused the death of 48 Marines, you are meant to be one of Humanity's best but I laugh at that title considering how you cause the deaths of every marine you talk to." He mocks.

I feel my blood temperature rising, I can feel myself going red and I see my biotics flaring slightly.

_He didn't just go there, that Batarian bastard!_ I tell myself and he notices me getting angry.

"Aw did I hit a nerve weakling, too bad you can't do anything about it, they're dead now!" he laughs at me and I take a few steps towards him barely containing the anger that is bubbling to the surface.

I raise a biotic fist and swing at his jaw, I impact him and I feel some of his teeth loosen and at least one of them become disconnected from his gum but I don't care.

"What's your name bitch? Don't make me ask again!" I roar and I can actually see fear in his eyes.

"H-Harok Barik." He manages to say after whimpering for a few seconds.

"Now Harok, why did you hold up the Markets?" I ask with venom dripping off of his name when I say it.

"A-a Drug Runner, came up to me with the job, said if I gave him the money he would give me enough Red Sand to last a life time." He manages to say after a few seconds of cowering.

"And who is this Drug Runner?" I say with genuine curiosity.

"H-He'll kill me if I reveal his identity." He says and this sends me over the edge.

I grab my Stinger off of my hip and violently press it against his temple, causing the waste of oxygen to squeal in fear, this makes me laugh on the inside.

"What makes you think I won't shithead? I can kill you right here, right now and the fact that you brought up some unpleasant memories makes it all the more likely!" I scream and his eyes widen.

"Narin Lunas." He manages to choke out and I notice Garrus eyeing me with a concerned gaze.

I step backward and Garrus locks eyes with me for a moment and motions for me to come outside the room with him, so I follow, he takes me to a corner where we're alone, disconnected from others.

"What the hell was that Kieran? You went over the top on him and started beating him, when you pulled that pistol on him I thought you were going to kill him, so what happened?" He says softly.

I realise that he had waited outside for me to call him in and I feel the tear welling up to the surface however I force them down, barely.

"He mocked them Garrus, accused me for their deaths, he's right too, it's my fault I couldn't help them!" I hold my head in my hands and I feel pressure on my shoulder.

I look up and see Garrus, he's placed his taloned hand on my shoulder and I smile at him, he somehow makes me feel better just by listening to me.

"Kieran, I can't pretend to know what you're going through but I'm here if you need me." He says softly, to my surprise considering we haven't known each over long.

"What's happening to the bastard now?" I ask wit hatred.

"Chellick and Shiana are now handling the interrogation, you and I are going to hunt fot this Narin Lunas and find out who he works for so get up." He extends his hand to me and I take it, he pulls me to my feet and we make our way back to the elevator.

Just another day at the office I guess.

* * *

**Andrew's point of view.**

That being that sucked me here is in my head, telling me that Kieran will show up in this bar, I take a sip from my drink and ponder my thought for my moment, why am I in Mass Effect? Did this godly figure get bored one day and say, fuck it lets mess with some Humans by sending them into one of their favourite video games.

I look at Alex and he also seems deep in thought.

I see two armoured figures enter the bar and I study them intently, I identify the first as C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian however the second, I don't have a clue, it's only been a few weeks, this guy could be the Lion of Elysium for all I know.

They then approach me…

**AN: I tried to emulate a feeling of angst in this chapter and grief/regret etc, please leave a review with your thought on this chapter, it is a short one because I have hit a wall and I will need to start breaking that wall down before I can write the next one.**


	9. Angel in the Darkness

**Now Playing: Daughtry-Start of Something Good**

* * *

**Andrew's Point of View**

They approach me cautiously and I am immediately on my guard, I killed that Volus when he tried to pull a gun on me and they probably want to question me as they most likely have some miraculous evidence that mysteriously turned up and they want to bring me in.

The Human officer has a long scar extending down from his eye and upon examining closer I notice the huge bags that are present, Garrus seems wary of something however I don't know what it is, nonetheless they finally get to me and I hear the voice in my head again, of the god that brought me here.

**_He is the one, your friend Kieran Evans, he inhabits that C-Sec officer's body, he survived Akuze, and you should probably reveal your identity to him, alone, not with Officer Vakarian._**

I nod and the Human Officer, who the voice thinks is Kieran speaks first.

"Sir, I need to ask you a few questions." He says and I notice that his voice is very similar to Kieran's so maybe I'm not insane with the voice in my head.

"Okay but I would like this to be a private conversation, I need to discuss something with you." I say and to his credit he doesn't look confused he simply nods and we walk outside of the club, which is called Bassline, creative, not.

He now stares at me.

"You get one question, I get one question." He demands and I nod at him.

"Kieran…is that you?" I ask and my voice is full of hope.

He looks momentarily stunned by the sudden question and for a few seconds I am left wondering about whether or not I'm right.

"Y-yea but Andrew, how?" My best friend says and I quickly grab him in my arms and give him the biggest bear hug I can possibly muster.

He seems to be crushed by the sudden pressure and I decrease my grip on my friend who I had known for so long and missed so much because of his disappearance.

He is released from my vice-grip and then has a sharp intake of breath, no doubt because of all the air I squeezed out of him and he looks a little blue/purple, maybe I overdid it a little bit…nah.

He winces for a second but then gives me a beaming smile, I then notice he had put on a few stone in weight I will need to talk to him about what he's been up to recently.

"So why do you need me Kieran?" I ask.

"Me and Garrus are currently investigating a drug trafficker called Narin Lunas, we need to track him down for interrogation and then we will be able to crack the drug ring from the inside out." He says with a sly smile.

"Okay, as much as I would like to help you I am merely a civilian at the moment, I am off to sign up with the Alliance so maybe I could see you again soon, eh?" I ask and Kieran nods, I take my leave and I see Alex walk out after me.

**Kieran's Point of View**

Andrew walks away with Alex not too far behind him and I quickly enter the club again and I see Garrus looking at me with slight confusion however I quickly explain.

"Childhood friend." I say.

"Ah." He mumbles.

"So what now?" I ask.

"We managed to get a warrant to enter the back rooms, Narin will be the only Salarian by the sound of it however we will need to be cautious as we don't know how many targets there are exactly." He says and pulls out his Lancer X.

"I'm glad you're here Garrus, I don't think I would trust anyone else to be my partner and watch my back." I say and give him a wide smile, I put my hand on his shoulder for a second and his mandibles flair wildly.

He gives me the Turian equivalent of a grin and puts his taloned hand on my shoulder for a second and then I pull out my Banshee AR and we both stand next to the door while Garrus hacks it.

It only takes Garrus a few seconds to hack the door and once he does we both storm in with more power than Hurricane Katrina, I feel a connection with Garrus despite not knowing him for too long, he seems like a brother to me.

After we sweep through the first room we come to the second and I see two Human's with pistols pointed at me and my comrade however they don't stand a chance against our superior training, weapons and armour.

I raise my Banshee at the guard on the left and open fire in a long burst, it rattles for about two seconds and then I see Garrus has also taken down his man, we enter the next room far more cautiously and take our time.

We see that the third room is empty however I hear chatter behind a closed door, directly to our right and I point at it, Garrus nods and we move to either side of the door and I pull out my pistol for more accurate fire, as does Garrus as we don't want to hit Narin.

I breathe in deeply and after a few seconds Garrus opens the door and we barge in.

I see three Humans with pistols, one Salarian and one Turian (Presumably the owner).

The Humans raise their guns and fire on us immediately however we return fire but these guys have armour, albeit not as good as ours but it's still a threat.

I fire six rounds into the target on the far left and he drops like a rock, Garrus takes down the second and I suddenly notice my shields flicker.

I let off another two shots before I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder and my arm whips backwards from the force of the shot I had taken.

I let out a yell and after the Human goes down Garrus looks at me but I shake my head and we move forward on the two survivors who are cowering in the corner like a couple of scared pups.

I snarl at them and I pull out my Omni-Cuffs, I punch Narin in the jaw and with minimal care for his comfort whack them on quickly and then I hand the little bastard over to Garrus who just growls at him, it would scare me if he was doing it to me however he wasn't.

"Narin Lunas, I am arresting you under suspicion of drug trafficking, don't say anything or we will be able to use it against you in our investigation, we have officers here now ready to take you down to the Academy." I say with venom in my voice.

Right on cue a couple of Enforcers arrive in the room with us and they immediately drag Narin out of the club and into the C-Sec sky-car, I smile as I see the bastard giving me a look of hatred, before I can think about anything else Garrus puts his hand on my shoulder and gives me a Turian smile.

"Chellick and Shiana will interrogate him once he gets back to the Academy, we are now officially off duty so is there anything you want to do?" He asks and I smile at him.

"Well, what are my options?" I drawl out and give him a wider grin.

"No Hanar poetry, please, I don't fancy spending my day hearing a Hanar droning about how someone smells like a flower." He chuckles and I let out a hearty laugh, the first one since coming here, I feel happy with Garrus, he helps me forget about everything bad with his humour and I wonder what we could do for the rest of the day.

"You realize we need to patch up your shoulder before we go right?" He asks and the realization hits me like a semi.

"Fuck!" I yell and immediately secure my mouth after my outburst as that tends to happen a lot.

I then get a ping on my Omni-Tool.

**Kieran-**

**I have some shore leave on the Citadel and I was wondering if you're available to go for some drinks, message me back and be at the Dark Star Lounge by 10:30.**

**-Ellie**

I look up at my Turian partner and with great disappointment although I was now looking forward to seeing Ellie again and say.

"Sorry mate I need to go meet a friend and by the sound of it the shoulder may take a while."

His posture seems to slacken a bit and he seems a little shorter after I say this, I feel like a jerk.

**2 Hours Later**

I celebrated our victory for a good ten minutes before realizing I only had half an hour to meet Ellie at The Dark Star, I quickly dress in my shirt and black jeans, I grab my dad's dog-tags, the only things I took with me here and I lay them around my neck.

"See ya later Garrus!" I yell and he nods.

I dash out of the door and sprint towards the nearest transport station, I fail to breathe properly while running and I feel pain in my side however I continue on and manage to make it to the last taxi sky-car and manage to input the destination despite my rush.

I get there with five minutes to spare and I quickly move inside the club, I see Ellie sitting in a booth tucked into the corner and I see she is wearing her civvies, as if she would be wearing anything else, stupid goddamn brain!

She sees me and smiles, I, as if on reflex smile back and make my way over to her. I sit down and she studies me for a few seconds, much to my curiosity but I keep my mouth shut.

"So how's life on the Citadel?" She asks over the rhythmic boom of the bass that plays in a constant loop, choking us in its vice grip.

"Good, me and my partner just hit a club to bag a drug runner who could get us in the circle of a drug ring." I say with a mischievous tone.

"Your partner, who's your partner?" She asks and leans forward a bit.

"A Turian by the name of Garrus Vakarian, one hell of a guy." I emit a chuckle and I can just picture what he would say in these circumstances.

"Sounds like it…do you ever miss home?" She asks, deadly serious and it catches me off guard, as if I had a social guard anyway right?

_I do miss home but not as she knows it, I miss my home universe and all the people in it, I also wish sometimes I could have just led a normal life but instead I get dragged here._

"No." I deadpan and it was a forced response, I muttered and her eyes lock with mine and I see a unfamiliar softness in them.

"Oh…"

An awkward silence descends upon us and I try to break it in any way possible unfortunately this causes me to say something I wish I hadn't.

"How are you holding up?" I say in the same tone I would normally use when talking to a friend whose relative had died.

"I'm holding up, barely, what about you?" She says and her voice sounds heavy as if the memories are weighing down her every word and I understand how she feels.

"Honestly, I hear their screams every night and I wake up sweating and disoriented and I don't want to get a therapist so I keep it to myself and hope it will get better and to be honest it has a little but it's still awful and will be for a while probably." I finish my mini rant and see she is a little stunned but quickly composes herself.

**5 Minutes later**

"-And then it turns out that it was a Varren that stepped on a fucking landmine!" I exclaim and she laughs at one of my memories of N7 training.

I've had quite a bit too drink and when I say a hit I mean more than your usual guy drinks.

"Do you have anyone to go back home too?" Ellie asks and I wince visibly at that.

"No…I haven't really thought about anyone, there is this one beautiful woman but she's too great for a person like yours truly." I say and I can't stop myself before the words come out and then I mentally slap myself for saying it.

_Damn it Kieran, get your head together you fuckin' retard!_

"And who would that be?" She asks with a predatory grin and I am like a deer in headlights and I finally think of a way to avoid it which Andrew taught me a long while ago.

"And that my friend would be telling." I say and take another swig of my Jack Daniels.

She frowns and crosses her arms to which I just burst out laughing and then she starts too, I think the alcohol has made us both a little "special".

I look at my watch and see it is 2:00 AM and we had been talking for ages.

"Sorry Ellie, I have a late shift at work tomorrow and I will need to sleep of this hangover I will be getting so I'll see you later, actually scratch that, where are you staying?" I ask with concern.

"I'll probably head back to the ship." She groans.

"What kind of gentlemen would I be if I didn't escort you back?" I say with a wink and she chuckles at this but I genuinely didn't want her heading back on her own, I know she is Commander Shepard and anything that could harm her would destroy me but I still can't run that risk as she is just as Human as me.

The walk back is very mundane and the neon lights of the wards reflect off of the shined walls, creating a maze of bright lights that would confuse the eye at times and it did several times.

We cut through one of the less…orderly areas of the wards and are quickly approached by a Batarian and Turian duo and I immediately get a gut feeling that something is about to go down.

True to my thought the Batarian pulls a knife while the Turian draws a pistol and I am immediately on the offensive despite my drunk state.

The Batarian swings at me and I sidestep, grab his wrist then twist his arm brutally until I hear a wet pop once I go far enough he starts to scream like a wounded lion much to my joy he was now incapacitated so I focus on the Turian who is the main threat.

He goes to take a shot and I immediately draw on my Biotics, I feel a delightful tingle run up my spine however before I can do anything Ellie has slammed him into the wall with her Biotics and left a dent in said wall.

I smile at her but suddenly her expression goes grim and I wonder why but then I turn around and see the knife leave the Batarian's hand and I feel a sharp pain in my chest, I look down and see the handle protruding from my chest.

I fall backwards and hear Ellie shout my name while I feel the darkness smother me.

**AN: Please leave a review about what you thought of the chapter, I hit writers block hard and it took a while to write despite not being as long as the last one, anyway have a nice day :D**


	10. FUBAR

**Now Playing: S.C.A.V.A By Hollywood Undead**

* * *

I slowly open my eyes and the room I awake in is strangely dark, as if the power had died so I guess it's night cycle time; this would be a lot easier if I had my phone, wait a minute I have my Omni-Tool, you stupid fool Kieran!

Oh well, I tilt my head and see that my Omni-Tool is nowhere to be found much to my annoyance, I let out a huff and lay back in the agonisingly uncomfortable bed, I could feel the pain in my back from sleeping on it too much, you would think that nearly 200 years in the future that hospital beds would be a lot more comfortable right?

I hear the woosh that signals somebodies entrance into the room, I turn my head to the left and who I see leaves my jaw hanging. Shepard enters and I struggle in vain to formulate a reason for her to be here considering her shore leave would have ended by now.

"I'm glad you're okay Kieran, can I come sit down?" She asks and I can't say no.

"Of course take a seat." I gesture to the seat right next to my bed and she slowly makes her way next to me despite the low visibility and I can only barely make out her facial features, to be honest it's kinda creepy.

"So…how are you doing?" She chuckles in a somewhat mocking fashion.

"As good as I can be, say can you grab that glass of water I can't seem to reach it." I half ask, half beg with a frown and I stretch my arm out in vain to illustrate my point.

"Sure." She answers.

She reaches over to grab it but she suddenly lunges forward and I see a glint reflected by the small amount of light; I shoot my arms out on reflex and grab her hand, I am greeted by a sight I never thought I would see in my life.

She is holding a butchers knife and before I can try to disarm her she shifts her weight down on me; I feel the blade penetrate my chest and I let out a rough, wet cough that coats her in my blood and she emits a maniacal laugh.

Her crimson hair is only a shade lighter than that of my blood that is so visible now despite the low light and I can feel the blade tearing through my chest like an explosion; I contort my face in pain and rage, why did she do this? I wonder to myself.

She pulls the blade out with a tug and I can feel the warmth escaping my body like a rush of wind.

Suddenly she disappears but then a Cerberus insignia appears on the wall and the ceiling disappears, I see dark red skies blotted by inky blackness, a result of burning ash being thrown into the air along with thick black smoke that makes me cough.

I look to my left out of the window and I see it. Harbinger comes to greet me with its ugly "face" staring right at me with what I assume is contempt; in any other situation I would have ran but something prevents me from doing so and I am bound to the bed by an invisible force.

**_"Human, you have changed nothing, the cycle will continue despite outside intervention." _**

"Oh really? Well tell that to Shepard and besides machines can be broken!" I scream in resistance and I struggle against the force weighing me down while blood seeps from my chest in pools.

**_"Shepard…a mere organic whom you entrust the weight of destroying us upon, that will break her and you will all be harvested." _**He responds as if bored.

"Fuck you, you old piece of scrap, we will fight and win, we have prior knowledge and nothing you can do will stop us!" I shout proudly and I see his weapon start to glow and I struggle harder but to no avail.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck fuck, fuck." I mutter in panic and I hear the sound of the beam leaving Harbinger and I already know I'm screwed.

Everything goes white and I feel warmth wash over me in waves.

I launch forward quickly and I can smell something horrible; I wince as a fresh wave of pain runs through my chest then I look around the room I am in, one thing stands out.

"Thank god, it was just a dream." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and smile.

"Ah, you're awake, that's good because I had a call from Executor Pallen and he demands your presence at the C-Sec Academy." A Salarian doctor says with an unusual smile.

"What was the damage and where are my things?" I ask as I am very eager to get out, I never did like hospitals.

_"Only because you were scared of the needles you pansy." My mind retorts and I can't believe I still argue with myself._

_"Hey brain, guess what?" I say._

_"What?" _I_t asks._

_"Shut up!" I demand and my mind stays the same, I'm starting to wonder if that's the corporal getting access to my memories, I hope bloody not because that would suck._

To my surprise he obeys and I stare at the doctor for a few seconds and he sighs loudly, as if he wanted me to hear him; this unnerves me slightly and I eagerly wait on what he will say.

His eyes meet mine.

"You suffered minor damage to your muscle structure, no organ damage, fact alone is miraculous however advice caution, not back up to full speed yet." He says at the speed of a hyperactive hamster on sugar rush and I am stunned by his speed of words.

I shake it off and nod, he brought in my armour and he allows me some privacy to get sorted out as I needed to put the under-layer on instead of the ghastly patient gown that makes me feel chained to the hospital like a dog to his kennel.

I slip on the under layer with minimal effort and finally manage the armour however when I first put it on I feel sharp pain in my wound which causes me to hiss and grip at the offending injury.

"Son of a-!" I yell.

This is gonna be harder than I thought.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

The Turos was a slender man who enjoyed a bit of whiskey every now and then while going over the reports that his Commanders gave him; it was a wonder how the Council had been so foolish and now his industry was flourishing.

With a chuckle to himself he looked over one of the latest reports and what he saw almost sent him into a rage and his lifeless grey eyes flickered with hatred.

**Narin Lunas**

**Status: Captured by C-Sec Officers Kieran Evans and Garrus Vakarian.**

He sent a message to all his operatives saying to start cleaning house about their ops, he didn't need C-Sec on his back now and it would merely harass him more than stop him.

He sat back in his chair and chewed on his cigar for a few more moments before extinguishing it.

* * *

**Location: Pallen's Office**

**Name: Kieran Evans**

"You called me here sir?" I ask with evident confusion; I say it's well placed considering I had just got out of medical to continue working again, this seemed more than a simple day at the office however.

He narrows his eyes and his mandibles flair, I look to Garrus on my right who shrugs as if reading my thoughts then I look over to Chellick and Shiana who are at attention and ignoring me because of Pallen's authority over them.

"Yes…a while back we got reports of a new Mercenary group that has extended from the lowest wards of the Citadel to even the Presidium and now they seem to be coming to the surface; the prisoner you captured gave us valuable Intel about one of the Mercenary bases on the wards." He explains with a fire in his eyes that burn the entire time and I start to feel something more than hate for the racist SOB.

"And what do you expect us to do sir?" Chellick asks and I see that he looks sort of worried, I guess Pallen isn't his number one fan.

"Well Officer you and the rest of your group will wait for an opportune time to strike the base and once inside you will receive support from several Specialist Firearms Officers who will take some of the heat off you while you all extract data, understood?" He asks and I like the plan despite my wound.

"Yes sir!" We all shout in unison and give crisp salutes before leaving the office and heading to the Armoured Vehicle Bay where the shuttles are held as a commercial sky-car won't be durable enough to survive this fight.

I had personalised my C-Sec uniform somewhat, I replaced the regular gloves with jet black fingerless Combat Gloves and I wore my N7 insignia on my shoulder; I upgraded my helmet with a few more advanced HUD features and that made up all I could afford at the time.

"You alright for this Kieran, you did take a nasty hit." Chellick asks warily and eyes me for a few moments.

"I'm alright mate, we can show these Muppets whose boss." I say and I lace my words heavily with my still evident British accent.

Nobody says another word while we step into the shuttle and I don't know if that's a good thing, Garrus sits across from me and Shiana pilots while Chellick is next to me; the ride is dead silent as if we are flying in deep space and we approach our drop location.

"Rockets incoming!" I hear Shiana shriek and I quickly brace myself, I'm glad I do as when the rocket hits it jerks us all around the inside like ragdolls then I feel another impact; sirens start blaring painfully in my ear and the shuttle starts to shake even more, I feel a few bruises that will show up later.

"We're going down!" I hear another cry from the cockpit and I feel myself slam into the side of the shuttle one last time before blackness takes over.

I cough violently and open my eyes, my vision is swinging all over the place although eventually this stops and is replaced by equally impeding blurriness; I see that I am still inside the burning shuttle and I can barely hear the rattle of heavy gunfire all around me.

I am lying on my back and I bring my hands up to my face, I see that my gloves have a few cuts and my hands are quite bloodied and gashed; I suck this pain up and slowly scramble for the exit despite difficulty.

I finally manage to exit the wreck and I see Garrus firing his assault rifle down at several Mercs and I see we are down in an alleyway at the front entrance of the base with minimal cover so I immediately rush next to Chellick and avoid a bullet to the brain for my troubles.

I pull out my Avenger X sniper and lean out of cover, only to be forced back by a hail of automatic gunfire that takes a good 30% off of my shields; Chellick looks at me with desperation and tries to return fire with his Lancer.

"Kieran! Take Chellick around the side and flank them while me and Shiana keep them distracted here!" Garrus yells and I nod.

"Come on!" I yell to Chellick and we run down the alley to our right, I decide to switch to my Banshee AR and we then make a left turn and stalk to the side of the defensive line; I see a few Turret Emplacements bearing down on our two comrades however they aren't automated and are manned which makes my brain light up.

"Chellick! You any good with that sniper?" I yell and he nods slowly.

"Well then can you climb up that ladder and got onto the roof and provide some sniper support to take out those Turrets?" I ask in desperation and he nods but then turns back.

"What about you?" He asks with concern.

I turn away from him and towards the front entrance.

"What I do best." I mutter and move forward down the alley that connects to the entrance.

I hear three shots ring out with long echos and I see that the Turret gunners have fallen much to the panic of the remaining three Mercenaries who I move up on and switch to my Katana.

The first one tries to rush me, foolish mistake for him as his assault rifle does little to my shields because of his terrible shooting and when he is close enough I manage to secure my shotgun with one hand and draw energy into my other.

I feel the familiar tingle up my spine and use a Singularity which drags him with considerable force into to the mini-black hole; I point my shotgun at him and fire two shots that make my arm jerk back insanely at my one handed shooting.

Blood and mangled flesh burst out in all directions from the Merc's body and I don't feel anything about it anymore which is impressive for me the blood also manages to find a perch on the left side of my visor which I wipe off with my free left arm.

The second Merc capitalises on this and throws a grenade at me however I draw all my energy into my core and unleash it; this causes me to propel myself forward at high speed into the second, causing him to stumble.

I see a heavy rain of metal destroy the last two before I could even move and I see Garrus with Shiana approaching me now that they are no longer pinned down.

I see that they are all bloodied as me and then I hear a cry ring out.

"Chellick!" I scream as our comrade falls off the building with a hole in his chest and I feel rage, uncontrollable, unstoppable and simply awesome.

"Damn! Dispatch this is Officer Vakarian we have an officer down at our co-ordinates we require immediate medical assistance, how copy."

"Officer this is Dispatch copy that we have medical units en route now, over." The radio operator replies calmly as if this was an everyday occurrence.

I suddenly hear several armoured footsteps approaching from behind and I see figures in black armour approaching us.

"Officer Vakarian sir, we're the SFO unit tasked to you; where do you need us?" The Human leader asks and Garrus immediately knew what to do with our well-equipped guests.

"Take the front entrance as you have more firepower, we'll get the back and secure our downed Officer." Garrus demands and to their credit they do exactly as they are asked while we sneak around the back silently.

I had switched to my Banshee and Garrus looks at me.

"Kieran, get the door." He orders and I sigh having to pull out my Katana again.

"I like to keep this thing for close encounters." I say holding her up in all her glory and I kick the wooden door just above the lock and true to my predictions it breaks and falls back with an audible slam.

I slowly stalk in, I look left.

"Left clear."

Then right.

"Right clear"

"Dagger-1 Bravo this is dispatch, Intel shows that they are cleaning house in there; double time it or we will lose that data!" The operator yells for once.

I nod and we move a little quicker, always checking our corners and finally we come to a room where I can hear voices and Garrus looks at us and whispers.

"Try to identify the leader and sub-due him, the rest are expendable." Garrus instructs and we both nod so I change to my Stinger X for a more safe few shots.

I place the hack module on the door and when the door opens I quickly throw a flash bang inside, I wait for the flash and then enter; I quickly notice the man who is the leader because of his attire however the last few men were all trained and to my horror I see something on their chests.

The N2 is emblazoned on them, I shouldn't be worried but even going to N1 commands a certain respect; I make no reservations in using my biotics here as they are stunned and I grab the first Commando and singularity her which drags the rest in too and I am actually thinking this is too easy although I was N7.

I digress and fire, killing them all ruthlessly and then the base commander with his back up against the wall faces us with disgust and a pistol.

"C-Sec, put the gun down and come quietly!" Garrus demands and for a few moments the man contemplates this before laughing.

"No." Is his last word before he blows his own brains out over the wall and we are in awe for a few moments at what he had done; Garrus extracts the data and hits the wall, obviously pissed about the Intel we could've got from him since the data won't be that much anyway.

I pop my neck and follow him.

* * *

**Debriefing.**

Pallen almost immediately rips into Garrus.

"Let me get this right, you crash a C-Sec shuttle, get one of your squad mortally wounded, lose a Tier 2 asset, and cost 5 SFO's lives; all this for this pathetic piece of data, maybe I was wrong about you Garrus and you're Human pet too!"

I feel that rage again for his ranting to Garrus and I clench my fists knowing I could snap at any moment and eventually I zone out until I hear.

"I will keep you updated now get out of my sight."

We walk out and Garrus looks ready to blow at a moment's notice.

* * *

**After the Debriefing.**

I am sat on the cough with Garrus next to me back at his place.

"Why do we have to wait?" I whine like a child who wants ice cream.

"Because, they need to decode the data." He sighs in exasperation and my childishness.

"Alright buddy, I'm off to sleep so have a good one!" I call to him and enter the spare room unchallenged by Garrus.

* * *

**AN: So yea, Chellick is hurt, Garrus is yelled at and Kieran is treading a thin line; leave your reviews please and I am taking OC requests for SFO (Specialist Firearms Officer's) just PM me, PEACE.**


	11. Reactive Service

My alarm is the first thing I hear and I react as any normal being would, with annoyance; I shut the thing off and lean forward in a sitting position on my bed and I see that I have message on my Omni-Tool which makes my curiosity uncontrollable so I open the file.

**Lt. Kieran Evans**

**I am aware that you are undergoing temporary leave from the Alliance altogether however, we have a situation that requires you to be brought back onto active duty immediately as any other soldier wouldn't get the best out of this.**

**I have sent a ship to dock at the Citadel Bay E-27 that you will be picked up by, once on board I will give you a briefing on the comms as this message could be intercepted which would reveal classified information to anyone that does.**

**I wish you the best Lieutenant.**

**-Admiral Steven Hackett**

This surprises me as I never thought the Admiral would send personal messages to anyone of my rank.

I quickly go through my morning routine which involves shower, get dressed, armour and I walk with a brisk pace that feels surprisingly good.

I enter the kitchen and see Garrus sitting down at the table, his body slumped and he is clumsily shovelling food into his mouth; he looks like crap to be perfectly honest but I pay it no mind for a few seconds and grab a bowl and fill it with…oh my god.

Bloody Cheerio's, I'm surprised they're still in existence today, in all honesty I thought they would be taken over by a huge alien company but I digress.

How should I break it to Garrus? I ask myself this question in my head multiple times and I find no answer, I decide it's best to just tell him bluntly and get it over with.

I sit down at the table and stretch my arms, I look into his eyes for a moment but only a moment.

"Hey Garrus, I need to tell you something mate." I say and if I was Garrus I assume I would be staring at a poker face, I don't feel like that inside.

"Sure thing Kieran, what's up?" He asks and I sigh audibly and pinch the bridge of my nose.

"I got a message from Admiral Hackett whilst I was asleep, I need to go back to active duty, you may not know but I didn't retire, I was put on temporary leave to recover from emotional trauma and I've just been called back to active duty." I say and the words are forced, heavy.

"Oh, does that mean you will be leaving C-Sec?" He asks and his mandibles twitch furiously as if they were a birds wings.

"I'm afraid so my friend, I'm about to head out to the ship that's been sent for me so here's my badge." I pass it over the table and he picks it up, I'm assuming he will give it to Pallen.

I stand up with my day-sack already packed and sorted with all my equipment, I only carry my pistol strapped to my side as a necessary precaution, or paranoia but I'm not really sure anymore.

To my surprise Garrus also stands up and closes the distance between us quickly then pulls me into a quick, brotherly hug before pulling away however he leaves his hand on my shoulder and sighs.

"Stay safe out there Kieran." He says and I look up to meet his eyes, I stare into them for a few seconds.

"I will, you stay safe too mate." I say and place my arm on his shoulder but then pull away to leave and I rush out of the door and as if on auto-pilot, find myself at the docking bay Hackett had mentioned.

The ship is about the size of a normal Scout-Frigate but far less curvy and elegant as the Normandy, It's also a lighter colour than the Normandy's hull and has two long blue stripes on each side then I see the name of the ship.

**SSV El Alamein **is imprinted in bold, black letter across the right side of the hull and that sealed the deal for me knowing it's a Frigate as I remember reading in the Mass Effect Codex that Alliance Frigates are named after famous battles in Human history.

I also know quite a deal about both the battles of El Alamein and it's interesting to see a ship to honour it.

I enter the docking tube and see a young marine who seems to be in his early twenty's glaring at me for some reason.

"I'm afraid you can't be here sir, this ship is Alliance." He 'explains' to me and I frown but then realise that I am still wearing my C-Sec armour with the N7 across the left breastplate.

"I'm sorry Serviceman but I am here on the orders of Admiral Hackett." I say calmly and send a file to his Omni-Tool with my ID file on it.

He stares at it intently for a few seconds then looks up and I feel like he is going to start some trouble.

"Uh s-sorry Lieutenant, go ahead, sir!" He says and salutes me.

"Relax Serviceman, I'm not even in uniform, you don't need to salute me." I chuckle and head on through to the inside of the ship however I did have to stop for half a minute with the ship's VI yelling about decontamination which was very annoying.

I step onto the CIC and see it is very different to the Normandy's layout, the Captain is at the centre not aft of the CIC and I remember that the Normandy is designed with the Turian bog-standard design.

I see the Captain standing in front of me talking to a crewman and I walk over quietly, he waves off the crewman and looks at me; I snap a clean salute which he returns and without a word nods.

He starts walking and I follow immediately, he takes me to the back of the frigate in a small room with three terminals coming from the floor, much like that of the Normandy.

He then presses one of the buttons and walks out quickly.

"Lieutenant thanks for coming." Admiral Hackett's gruff voice comes over the intercom.

"Admiral, what do you need me for sir?" I ask, my voice conveying nothing but respect for my superior.

"We currently have a sensitive situation, one of our N7 deep cover operatives has been captured by the Hegemony and is being interrogated as we speak and we need you to get her back." He says with the same tone as usual, this man never seems worried.

"Any other details sir?" I ask and I furrow my brows slightly.

"Yes, one of the reasons I have chosen you for this mission, the captive is Alexia Wilkinson who you met in Rio, you will be leading the rest of her team to free her." He says and I'm slightly confused.

"Sir, why me and not Commander Mason?" I ask.

"Commander Mason was killed in action while letting his team escape, he was left behind." My heart drops slightly.

"Yes sir, is there anything else you need?" I ask reluctantly.

"Not at all son, give em hell out there!" He says with a slightly raised voice and cuts the link.

* * *

For the rest of the journey I didn't even go to see the rest of the team, even though I should've; my mind was miles away, thinking about Burns again.

So when they call me to get geared up a few days later it is the first time I see the N7 squad.

* * *

I pass Amanda and she smiles at me, I don't return it, I just want to get this job over with and the other squad members are just silent.

We grab our weapons and I quickly suit up in an Onyx V suit that was knocking about the spare armour locker.

It's a tight fit and it's nowhere near as comfortable as my C-Sec armour, with my several weapons sorted I step into the small shuttle with the rest of the team who have a very depressed air around them, not surprising as they lost their leader.

"Alright, listen up this is a high-priority mission but I will not have unnecessary risks being taken, no being bloody heroes, got it?" I say and I let my English accent slip through on 'bloody'.

I get several nods and the humming of the craft becomes the only audible sound, the planet we are going to is a frozen world where the temperatures are always below zero and snow is constant.

I feel the shuttle thud against the ground and I open the door causing snow to slam into us like an unrelenting wave.

"Everybody follow my lead, Amanda I want you to hack their systems when you can, and Jacob get my six." I then realise that there was a new guy with us too.

"Rookie, stick by Amanda." I say and realise he is an Adept.

Everyone nods and we move forward, the cold air chills me to the core and makes me shiver despite the environmental-controls in my suit.

I pull out my Stinger X and warm up my Biotic amp mentally, ready for engagement.

We come over a ridge and see a Pre-Fab base below us, there are four guard towers with a Batarian Rifleman in each, lazily scanning the area.

I pull out my Avenger, equipped a suppressor and hold up my fist for them to hold position.

They do and I take aim at the nearest tower, I sight my sniper over his head and pull the trigger which results in a quiet crack and my arm jerking back, I pull the bolt back so I can fire again.

The Batarian drops and saturates the snow with its blood.

'Ha take that bloody Batarian scumbag.'

I take the other three out in the same manner and smile at my handiwork, I put away my still smoking rifle.

I pull out my Banshee Assault Rifle and signal for us to move up, me on point with Jacob behind me, Amanda and the Rookie paired up at the back.

We make it to the door and I see that it's locked, I don't panic however as I have Amanda with me.

"Amanda, get the door, Jacob me and you will breach, Rookie put a barrier over us once the door opens." I tell them about my plan and they all agree.

After a minute I hear a ping and enter quickly with Jacob beside and a biotic barrier enveloping us, I see immediately that it was a good call as three Batarians level their rifles at us and begin firing, only for their shots to deflect harmlessly off the Rookie's barrier.

I aim at the one in the centre and pull the trigger, unleashing a burst of fire that slams into its shields like a locomotive and they quickly drop allowing a bullet to penetrate his chest and one for his head.

Amanda Overload's the shields of the left one and quickly finishes him off with a pistol shot.

Jacob Biotic charges the other one and practically destroys him with a few shotgun shots, leaving a disgusting, gory mess in place of a body.

"Nice work team, I'll head to the cells and I need you to secure a landing zone, I'll meet you there and we'll get the hell out." I say.

"What? That's crazy, they'll overrun you?" Amanda says and I shake my head.

"Ye of little faith, that's an order by the way." I say and turn around, I quickly run for the cells.

I skid to a halt when a Batarian levels a shotgun at me, about two inches away from my chest.

'Need to act fast!'

I push the Shotgun away with my right hand, causing the blast to go wide, then I pull out my combat knife and stick it into the soldier's throat before dying the last noises he makes are wet gurgling sounds.

I yank it out and wipe off the blood with almost no emotion, almost.

As soon as I do a few shots impact my shields and I pull out my pistol to return fire against two Batarian's armed with rifles at the end of the hall.

I fire off a few shots and drop the one on the left quickly however I hear my shields drop, I feel a tearing pain in my left shoulder, I stumble back and I quickly realise I can't use it.

'Ah fuck.'

I clench my teeth and build up my energy, then I release it and fly forward, impacting hard into the offending soldier who slams into the wall.

I fire a quick pistol shot into his head to assure his death and carry on.

I enter the cells and see three Batarians interrogating Alexia, who is covered in severe cuts and bruises, I feel my bloody run like magma through my veins.

I throw a warp at the window and it breaks, shocking the Commander of the Batarians, his subordinates aren't that lucky as I fire quick shots and kill them before they can draw their weapons.

Before I can advance I feel myself get thrown backwards into the wall and my head pulses with pain, I look up and see him standing over me with a blue aura…a Biotic Batarian?

I quickly swing my leg out and sweep him onto the floor, I capitalise on this and stand up, pistol long forgotten, I throw a biotic punch at him while he's down but he rolls out of the way…the worst I do is dent the floor badly.

He jumps up and tries to swing at me with a primitive but brutal looking blade, I jump back to avoid it and push my leg out into his chest so I can keep my distance.

I feel sweat on my brow…I'm tired.

'Dammit, I'm either losing my edge or this guy is good…this guy is the reason Mason's dead'

That thought is all it takes to rejuvenate me, I close the distance and grab his knife hand before he can use it, I bring up my right arm and deliver a Biotic right hook that makes him slam into the wall.

I feel my amp usage taking its toll on me, I used too much power on those few strikes.

At a safe range to do so I pull out my shotgun, he tries to charge me again but fails to notice my weapon before it is too late, I blast his chest and he dies relatively quickly.

I holster the weapon and run into the interrogation room, I see the extent of what they've done but to my amazement Alexia is still conscious.

"Kieran, hey, give me a weapon, I can still fight….want to bring it to those fuckers." She says this all quickly.

I nod, in no position to argue and give her my shotgun, my sniper being my only weapon left, I lost the others unfortunately.

Despite her injuries she still wears her armour with no fuss and carries on like a trooper.

We don't run into any resistance which I think is odd, but then we get outside and I see why.

Bullets whistle all around and I quickly jump into action, I use hand signals to order her to link up with the rest of the squad and I engage some of the Batarians attacking them.

I charge and he dies on impact because his shields had dropped, a bit of a kill steal but oh well.

I feel multiple sharp pains in my gut however and fall backwards…

I turn in pain and try to drag myself to the squad.

All sound seems distorted and I hear yelling.

* * *

**Amanda's point of view.**

* * *

I see Jacob rush forward and blast a Batarian that had tried to finish off Kieran, the Rookie covers us with AR fire while we try to get him.

"Shit! Man down, He's hit bad!" Jacob yells as we both drag Kieran into cover, the fire only intensifies though.

I see the amount of blood and gasp, then after a brief moment of shock immediately signal the comm.

"This is Sgt. Amanda Palmer, the Lt is critically wounded, we need immediate evac, LZ is hot, repeat LZ is hot!" I yell.

"_Roger that Sgt, you're ride is a few seconds away now."_ The operator says and I see that he is telling the truth.

Several Marines pour out of the shuttle and open fire on the Batarians to keep them supressed while we drag Kieran into the shuttle which makes him groan, Alexia just limps and we enter, the Marines hop back in after.

A few shots impact the shuttle before we reach the Alamein…

* * *

**AN: It seems Kieran can never keep himself out of trouble eh? Leave a review, it would be appreciated, PEACE!**


	12. 2178: The Price Of War

**Now Playing: Avenged Sevenfold- Welcome to the Family.**

**The Price of War**

* * *

**Andrew Critchley's Point of View.**

It's been a few weeks since I've seen Kieran and I finally managed to finish the intense training for the Alliance Marines along with my other friend of 18 years, Alex Fletcher.

We were assigned to a new Alliance Cruiser, The _Valhalla_ with a detail of fifty battle-hardened marines on-board, fully ready for combat at a moment's notice; I have to admit that the ship's name didn't sound Alliance-like to me at all however that's just my opinion.

Once we graduated the military academy I started noticing how we had all changed, some things were small but others significantly larger; Alex had grown in size and he was no longer the scrawny toothpick I used to tease for his size, he also gained a neat five o'clock shadow that never seemed to disappear no matter how much he shaved.

I'm currently in the armoury with Alex, we're checking our weapons as the Alliance Intel Network (AIN) had picked up on a Batarian Slaver Base located on a moon near Eden Prime, this is more than slightly odd and the Valhalla was called out to clear the base and secure any intel we can find.

I scrub some stubborn dirt off of my shotgun with a cloth and that sorts out my weapons, I carry Alliance Standard Issue weapons however I still like to keep them as clean as possible and I see Alex finishing work on his sniper.

'He loves that rifle way too much' I think to myself and I put my weapons back on the bench.

I'd made it to Corporal pretty quickly however Alex was still only a Serviceman and I never let him forget when he tries to argue with me.

I look over to him and his steel grey eyes hadn't changed much either, neither had his short, black hair.

The armour we used is standard Gladiator X armour with a custom blue paint job, despite what the first Mass Effect depicted the armour as, it turns out the Alliance has a stick up its ass about the colours of equipment.

I suddenly hear a siren wailing, indicating that we're nearing a combat zone and I quickly ready myself; I put on my armour and strap on my weapons in a flash, as does Alex who looks anxious considering this will be his first time in proper combat.

"Hey Alex, I can see you're nervous, just stick with me and we'll get through this with no problems." I say and try to calm him down a bit, it works as I see his breathing steadies slightly.

"Got it bro, where's the Major, I thought he would be leading this assault?" Alex asks and I shake my head.

"He is, he's leading a group of 25 Marines around the front entrance, we will have a further five squads of five men led by Corporals and Sergeants to hit their flanks and support the main force; we'll be going in by shuttle and our landing zone is going to be red hot so ready your assault rifle for when we hit the dirt." I tell him with a no nonsense tone and he nods.

Three marines walk up to us and I identify them, one is a scrawny young lad named Stevenson, the second a slightly bulky man called McGregor who is clearly Scottish by his thick accent, the final man is a Texan by the name of Westwood.

Ha that's kinda funny, if you get the pun.

McGregor is the first to speak up.

"Sir we've been slated by the Major to your squad." He states the obvious and I could have facepalmed.

"I can see that McGregor, everyone load up into the shuttle, we need to be on the ground along with the rest of the attack force ASAP." I reply and everyone obeys as they clamber into the small transport.

I notice my heart rate increasing steadily, most likely because of the adrenaline; I already have my M-7 Lancer X out and ready for combat, the small amount of intel we were given mentions multiple point defence turrets and entrenched gun positions, obviously this was going to be difficult.

"We're half a minute from the landing zone, ready yourselves." The pilot's calm voice rings out over the intercom and I listen to what he says.

I secure my helmet quickly onto my head, as do the rest of the marines and before I know it I feel a thud underneath my feet.

Without warning the door of the shuttle opens and my ears are immediately assaulted by the roar of Anti-Vehicle turrets and Automatic Weapons fire.

"Everybody move, we're sitting ducks in this position, advance forward, and double time!" I yell just to be heard over the gun fire, I notice that some of it is coming towards us and I see a squad of Batarians in a trench about 5 foot deep.

They open fire on us with Assault Rifles however I already have an idea forming in my mind.

"Stevenson, throw a singularity at the four eyed bastards!" I scream and he just shoots out his arm, forming a miniature black hole that sucks the four Batarians into the maw.

I raise my rifle and open fire, my rounds tear through two of the vulnerable Non-Humans and Alex finishes off the other two.

_"This is Major Reus, all squads, we need the point defence turrets offline; someone needs to take a squad into the Generator Building and shut them down!" _The Major's voice reflects the urgency of the situation.

"_Major, this is Corporal Andrew Critchley, my squad will make our way to the Generators' just update our waypoint and we'll be on our way sir!" _I shout and I let my English accent slip into words.

"_Your waypoint is updated Corporal, move out!" _He yells and I hear gunfire over the comm, followed by an explosion.

"_Yes sir!" _I finish the conversation and my waypoint highlights a small pre-fab building about 500 meters away from our position.

"I've got point, everyone get my back, Alex use that sniper of yours and pick off any enemies while we advance!" I order and everyone silently acknowledges my command.

I move up quickly until I am about 100 meters away from the entrance but suddenly a Batarian armed with a shotgun rounds the corner and behind his helmet I can tell he has a sadistic smirk at the idea of killing me.

I prepare for my death until I hear a loud crack echo through the air and the enemy in front of me drops to the floor with a neat hole in his head; I look behind and see Alex giving a thumbs up to which I smile broadly.

"McGregor, get the door, it's locked, we'll cover you." I say and he immediately sets about the task of hacking the door.

After about two minutes the door opens and I quickly switch to my shotgun, the close quarters calls for some more firepower I think!

We move up slowly as the howling silence shreds against our nerves, making us slowly more paranoid that something will go wrong.

True enough, it does, before any of us can react a turret comes out from the ceiling and tears through Westwood before I can react.

"No!" I scream but I know it's too late for him.

"Sir what do we do, that thing will shred us?" Stevenson screams in desperation and I immediately have an idea.

"Get some grenades on that thing!" I yell and they both unclip two grenades and launch the disks at the offending turret.

The resulting explosion rocks us slightly however I immediately get up and take point again, before I clear the corner a Batarian comes round in a rush, he doesn't notice me until he is right in front of me, too close for me to shoot.

I take the combat knife from the sheath on my left arm, reminiscent of the knife the British Commandos' would carry, made by someone called Sykes, if I remember correctly.

I drive it into the soft spot of his armour, just on the neck area and a torrent of blood rushes out; he starts to fall forward however I shoot my leg out to keep his dead body off me and he falls in the other direction.

I wipe off the blade and place it back in its sheath before advancing to the main control room for the power, we stack up on the door and I place a frame charge made of C18 (Plastic Explosive) on the door.

"On my mark lads, 1, 2, 3, mark!" As soon as I say that I detonate the frame charge which tears through the door like a hot knife through melted butter and we go in dynamic entry style.

As soon as I come into the room I notice a there's six Batarians in the room with us, I turn to the one on my left who is wielding some sort of hatchet and blow him away, leaving a massive hole in his chest, I can see part of his lungs, now destroyed.

I suddenly feel a few shots impact my barrier and I see one Batarian levelling a shotgun at me, I can't raise mine in time however so I roll to the left in order to avoid certain death.

My suits VI starts to natter on to me.

**_Warning: Shields at 10%_**

I see Stevenson launch a warp at a Batarian who had armed himself with a simple pistol and the biotic attack rips through him, he drops to the floor dead a few moments later.

I pull out my pistol in my right hand and open fire on the Batarian with the shotgun.

The first round is deflected harmlessly by his shields, the second has the same result and so does the third however the fourth manages to penetrate his barrier and more importantly, his skull; he drops down the floor leaving three lethal enemies remaining.

I look to my right and see a Batarian armed with a large, crude looking knife overpower Stevenson and before I can do anything the monster drives it into his throat, killing him before he can react.

I feel my body heating up in rage and I launch myself forward at the bastard who killed him and drive my combat knife into the back of his neck, paralysing him from the damage I caused to his spine.

McGregor manages to take one down with his pistol and the final one is on his hands and knees grovelling for his life, it makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I raise my shotgun to the his head and pull the trigger without any thought, he lies with no head on the floor; I simply walk over to the generator controls and re-route all power from the turrets to other areas.

To make the damage permanent I destroy the terminal with a grenade, making it so nobody can re-route the power back to the turrets.

I get on the comm as soon as I finish doing this.

"_Major, this is Corporal Critchley, my squad's taken out the turrets however we've suffered two casualties, awaiting new orders sir." _I say monotonously.

_"Damn good work Corporal, get the rest of your squad and link up with Lieutenant Gomez, I've marked his location on your HUD, get moving soldier!" _He yells and I obey.

Me and McGregor quickly exit the building and Alex is waiting for us outside with Batarian blood all over his armour.

"Don't ask." He mutters.

"Noted, we need to link up with Lieutenant Gomez, let's move out." I say but before we can take a step I hear a loud crack and see McGregor slump to the floor with a hole in his chest.

"Sniper, get down!" Alex yells but I quickly catch sight of the sharpshooter and charge towards its position, the Batarian looks surprised as he doesn't even pull the trigger however he drops his rifle and throws a punch at me, which I deflect with my arm.

He tries to head butt mehowever I bring up my elbow and his helmet strikes my elbow, leaving a numbness and tingling in that spot, I ignore it and draw my knife while he tries to regain balance.

He throws a quick punch that catches my chest and he tries to yank the knife from my hands, he fails and before he can counter I drive it into his neck again, the only vulnerable spot on the armour.

I quickly remember the reason behind my rage and run back to Alex before I can even think about anything else.

"Alex, 'ow is 'e!" I say and my accent slips through thicker than ever.

"He's dead mate, nothing we can do but we're being surrounded, we need to get to the LT now!" He yells in reply and I shake my head.

"Alright, let's move." I say grimly and we start running to a waypoint about 700 meters away.

I can feel my heart pounding against my chest and my lungs rapidly inflating then deflating, every now and then a stray shot will impact my shields and knock me off balance however Alex lends me a hand when that happens.

When we finally make it I see a group of marines holding their ground on an ASC (Anti-Ship-Cannon) and the Batarians are pushing hard for it, I see about twenty moving up for it against the ten marines holding their ground.

We run to the front entrance barricades and I see the LT with an Assault Rifle next to another marines with a shotgun, we run into the building for the cannon and he immediately starts telling us the situation.

"Okay marines, this is the deal, we need to hold this position long enough for the engineers to take the gun, then we can turn it on the enemy ships that are engaging the Valhalla however the Batarians are hitting us hard, we need you two lads on the barricade while I take up a sniping position." He orders and we nod.

Alex draws his Assault Rifle and I follow suit, before we can even speak to each other another wave of Batarians charge our position, numbering to about six.

I open fire on the lead one and Alex does the same, our combined fire shreds the enemy and we keep combining our fire until our weapons overheat, once this happens there are still two left so I pull out my pistol and cut them down with a few quick snapshots.

Before we have a chance to recover they immediately put us on the back foot with another wave, however the LT spots something that fills me with dread.

"_Tank!"_ He yells and my heart sinks.

I see the mentioned armoured vehicle and before I can react it fires a shot from its cannon which impacts the barricade and throws me back, my head hits the wall and I feel myself fading…

**AN: I will be alternating chapters from Kieran, to Andrew/Alex from now on so my next chapter will be about Kieran, please leave a review, PEACE! :D**


	13. 2178: Dark Days

**Now Playing: Avenged Sevenfold-Nightmare**

**Dark Days**

* * *

**Kieran's Point of View.**

* * *

I hear a hollow tap, tap, tap and force my eyes to open and I am surrounded by the familiar abyss, smothered in darkness that threatens to swallow me whole.

I find myself consumed by a feeling, emptiness…no rage, growing inside me and I struggle to contain it; I stand up and feel the blood rush away from my head, leaving me slightly dazed.

My whole existence, is it worth anything? I'm not even needed in this universe and my presence probably makes other people suffer more, would Burns have died if I didn't exist here?

No he wouldn't of, neither would Muller or Smith, Chellick wouldn't have gotten shot, Garrus wouldn't have been chewed out by the Executor.

I clutch my head and feel all strength leave my legs, causing me to fall to the ground and I hear a dull whisper…

_You don't belong, you being here only causes pain and in the end you will doom the Galaxy._

"Shut…up." I mutter feebly and I know the voice feeds on this display of weakness.

_You may be N7 but you only endanger others, you are a weak link._

"No, I try, to help others, Alexia might not have got out alive if I didn't exist here." I retort although my voice is hollow.

_And does that balance the deaths of Muller, Smith, Chellick's injury, the death of BURNS!?_

"No…it doesn't…" I reply. Defeated.

_You would be better off dead, then you would no longer cause death and suffering…_

"NO! I remember now, I know you…the last time I listened to you…"

_Yes, I tried to force you to end your existence, it was for the better of everyone but unfortunately, Alex, Andrew and Grace got you through it._

That sentence brings back hundreds of childhood memories, Grace was a close friend ever since we met in high school, I still remember her Brown hair that looked blonde whenever exposed to light and her chestnut eyes…before I left my universe we had a falling out.

It was about me wanting to join the military and sure it was my decision but I was basically saying I didn't care what she thought of me…I fucked up.

_Yes! You fucked up just like you normally do! Now don't you see why you are better off in the void?_

"Yea…I do." I mumble.

No, remember what she told you Kieran, "If you die then the world would be a much darker place."

The second voice breaks me out of my trance and I see the first voice take the form of Grace, she- NO IT! Speaks to me.

"Kieran, do you really believe what I told you? You're actually a pathetic excuse for a human, accept the void."

"No…no…no, you're not even real, not really because Grace would never say that to me!" I scream and draw energy into my palm, I launch it at 'Grace' and it explodes, disintegrating the body upon impact.

I drop to my knees again and clutch my arm, I feel my consciousness fading away from me…

* * *

_Location: SSV El Alamein_

_Date: 4th January 2178_

_Current course: Eden Prime_

I clutch my head immediately as my eyes open, I also feel sharp pain in my stomach which causes me to groan.

"Argh, how much did I drink?" I whine and the doctor, a woman dressed in standard medical fatigues chuckles at me.

She couldn't be a day over 30 for sure.

"Lieutenant, I'm glad you're back, you took a nasty hit down there and I had to keep you in surgery for about ten hours trying to fix the damage; it took you a further day to wake up." She says with a sigh.

Her eyes are the same colour as mine and I catch myself admiring her flawless, shoulder height brown hair.

"Haha, that sounds like me, I always was a heavy sleeper when it counted." I say which gets a chuckle out of her, causing me to smile.

"Well, I better release you, Admiral Hackett has been eager to speak to you, as have the rest of the team that was down with you." She says finally but not before I ask.

"You have a name doc?"

"Yes Madison Hart, now you best be on your way Lieutenant." She says cutting off the conversation.

I nod and notice I am wearing my Alliance fatigues which means they removed my armour…well obviously.

I sort of half drop, half leap off the bed and walk out of the med-bay door, stage left.

I then turn right and see the Mess hall where the rest of my N7 comrades are eating and drinking the disgusting stuff called food on military ships.

I walk over to them and the first one to notice is Jacob.

"Hey! Sleeping beauty's back." He exclaims which gets a half cheer, half laugh from the rest of the squad.

"Shut it Van." I retort and he looks puzzled.

"Van?" He asks.

"Short for Vanguard aye?" I ask and he nods.

I sit down next to Amanda and I notice everyone's changed into their fatigues.

"Glad to see you're okay Kieran!" She says with her usual cheerful tone and I smirk before delivering one of the cheesiest lines ever.

"You should've seen the other guy." This gets a hearty laugh out of Jacob but Amanda just chuckles although the Rookie is still eating and hasn't even noticed my presence, don't think he liked me calling him Rookie…oh well!

I then notice something peculiar, Alexia isn't here…

"Guys, do you know where Alexia is?" I ask and Jacob is the first to jump on that.

"What you got the hots for her or something?" This makes me go slightly red but I keep my response as calm as I can…not very.

"Can it Van!" I yell much to everyone's amusement, even Rookie's.

"I think she went to the range with her rifle." Amanda says finally and I nod before leaving.

"Cheers." I reply and head down to the range, not before I rush to my room and grab my pistol though, I haven't used it properly for a while.

I look at myself in the mirror for a second and notice the slight bags under my eyes, I also trace the scar along my left eye from Akuze then walk down to the range.

* * *

**Alexia's Point of View.**

I level my Avenger again and try to hit the head of the target, I yank the trigger by mistake and the shot goes wide causing me to groan quite loud.

* * *

**Kieran's Point of View.**

* * *

I see her shot miss and raise my brow, I hear her groan and I get the feeling that she missed because she can't focus.

I walk over and stand next to her.

"What's up?" I ask trying to be light-hearted in my approach.

"I just can't focus, it's making me miss a lot." She answers bluntly.

"Why can't you focus?" I ask and I feel like I'm pushing it.

"A lot of things on my mind." Is her next blunt answer.

"You know…if you ever want to talk about anything, I'll listen." I say trying to reassure her but her response isn't what I expected.

Her shot goes way wide and she turns to me after setting her rifle down.

"Do you know what it's like?" She asks darkly, making me slightly nervous.

"What's like?" I ask, confused.

"Being all alone, at the mercy of the enemy where no matter what they do to you, you just have to accept it and hope that someone will get you out." Her voice loses all trace of emotion and I'm quickly starting to worry.

"What did they do to you Lex?" I ask softly, using her nickname to try and lighten the mood again, in vain.

"What didn't they do?" She says darkly before walking out, leaving her rifle behind and my brain simply fails to comprehend what she just said.

That could mean many things….none of them pleasant.


	14. 2178: Hurt, Voices and Valour

Now** Playing: All That Remains- Stand Up (A brilliant bloody song, in my opinion :P)**

I wasn't able to move for an hour after that as I was waiting for Admiral Hackett to call, so to pass the time I was listening to several metalcore songs by an Australian band called Parkway Drive, I always loved their music, it wasn't just about suicide and depression as some people would stereotype, it's a lot deeper.

I managed to get through several songs by the time I was called to the comms room.

The River

Carrion

Sleepwalker

Dark Days

Horizons

Those being my favourites and I only have one thing on my mind…Alexia, she's broken and to be honest I'm not sure if I can say I'm not broken either, the dreams I've been having are a lot more fucked up than before.

By time I get the call I had finished Horizons and I stand up, turn left and walk into the room where I hear the familiar, gruff voice of the Admiral.

"_Lieutenant, glad to see the mission was a success and that you're healing well." _He says and I can hear the slight happiness in his tone when he speaks.

"Yes sir, we got it done, what's my next objective?" I ask with eagerness.

"_I want you to go to Eden Prime and train some of the recruits until you get a new assignment, any questions_?" He asks.

"One sir, as you may know Corporal Wilkinson may be suffering from PTSD after being captured, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have her transferred to care facilities on Eden Prime until she recovers or have her teach the recruits with me?" I ask extending the idea to the Admiral.

Honestly the only reason I'm asking is because I care about her and I don't want her to get hurt because she couldn't focus.

"_Hmm, that actually sounds like a good idea Lieutenant, I'll have her assigned with you, dismissed._"

"Yes sir!" I exclaim and he cuts the communications.

I walk out of the comms room and walk over to the VI terminal located in the wall and ask it.

"VI, I need the location of Corporal Wilkinson."

**"She is currently located in her personal guest quarters however there is a lock on the door."**

"Good enough for me, that'll be all for now."

"**Logging you out Lieutenant."**

I take the long…elevator journey to the floor where the guest quarters are and find the one where the door has a red panel on it with code visible.

**'**Shouldn't be too hard'

I spend about three minutes sifting through code so I can unlock the door safely and eventually it does give in to attempts.

As soon as I enter I have to dive into a roll so I can avoid taking a Datapad to the faced and as soon as I do this I get up and look Alexia in the eyes, they burn with fury…and pain, like the eyes I always see in the mirror before I go to sleep, the same pain I feel every night when I think of Akuze and my squad during Operation Attrition.

We stand in silence for a few seconds before I do the only thing I can think of, despite the possibility of receiving a very painful reaction; I close the distance between us in an instant and wrap my arms around her and pull her into a long embrace, I feel myself starting to crack and I nearly let a tear slide down my cheek but I quickly stop it.

I feel the warmth of her body against the coldness of mine and for a moment I forget why I had done it in the first place but only for a moment because I hear her whimpering softly and it wrenches my heart.

"It's okay, you're safe now, they aren't going to lay a finger on you anymore…" I try to reassure her and she stops, it seems like it worked, if I knew what they had done to her I would've let that Batarian Biotic live just so I could torture him...

No! I'm better than that.

**_"Are_ you?"** The voice in my head calls out to me and I immediately snap.

_Shut the fuck up! Alexia needs us to be here for her so you are not helping you stupid bastard!_

**_"Touchy_**_" _is his reply before he retreats to the back of my mind.

"I'm sorry." She mutters and I'm immediately confused.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Lex, trust me, okay?" I say in an even softer tone of voice, one I hadn't used for a long time and I tighten the hug slightly, as if she would slip away if I didn't...I hate seeing her upset...I've never really cared for someone this much before, not even my old friends from my Universe, I never was one for comforting though.

"Okay…" Is her hushed response and I stay still, still holding her as close to me as I can.

But I back out of the hug despite not wanting to...I needed to discuss her posting to Eden Prime.

"They're posting me to Eden prime to train the soldiers there, Admiral Hackett requested you be posted with me." I say, trying to shift the topic towards work.

"Really? Why would two N7 Operatives be used to train common soldiers?" She asks, being ever perceptive.

"He said that he needed people with intense combat experience and also said it was until our next assignment, we could probably rent a place next to the base." I forward my idea.

"I see how that could work, what's our ETA?" She asks and I look at my Omni-Tool briefly to see how long we have before landing.

"We have about four hours before we drop into the system." I say and she gives me a mischievous look.

"Well then we can test who is the better sharpshooter, my apprentice." She says and gives me a sly wink which causes me to shake my head.

"You're on." I deadpan before following her back down to the range.

Why do I feel like this? Whenever I'm with her the pain of all that I've lost seems to disappear and be replaced by this warm feeling in my chest, her smile is so captivating...and- Kieran get your bloody head out of the gutter! You are a soldier, you don't have time for this sort of thing!

My voice in my mind reminds me and I sigh because it is truth, thinking like that could get me distracted and distractions could get me killed; god knows I have enough distractions with all the pain I feel, that alone has nearly got me killed on several occasions, although I never admit that to anyone seeing as they would have me carted off to some PTSD clinic, I can't have that if I am to change events or try and stop the Reapers.

_**"You can't deny your thoughts and feelings.**_

_Hey Voice...guess what? shut the fuck up you nonce!_

**_"Whatever floats your boat pal"_**

**Andrew's Point of View.**

**Now Playing: Parkway Drive-Dark Days**

I pick myself up off the floor despite the multiple wounds I have crying out in protest, the action of my body is stopped when I feel the cool soothing feeling of Medi-Gel being applied automatically by my suit.

My armour is battered and worn, I look to my right and see Alex sprawled out across the ground and I rush over to my fallen friend, I see he is still breathing however he is losing a lot of blood, I need to act fast.

I try to get on the radio.

"This is Corporal Critchley, I'm currently pinned down by a damn tank and I have wounded here, I need some goddamn support!" I yell desperately as I hear another shot echo through the area and slam into the wall next to us, causing me to stumble.

"_Roger that Mike-Sierra, you have a fighter squadron inbound for a strafing and bombing run, danger close out." _The operator calmly informs me.

I apply Medi-Gel to Alex's wounds and pick him up, he uses my shoulder as a support and draws his pistol, I drag him back to the staircase where Lt. Gomez starts trying to dress his wound as soon as he arrives however Batarians swarm in through the gap we left after retreating.

I pull out my Lancer AR just as three Batarians come into the building, they immediately open fire on me with their rifles; my shields drop to about ten percent and I throw a grenade at them which takes out one of them, throwing his dismembered limbs around the room in a red spray.

I am forced into cover by another volley of fire and I see Alex take one down with his pistol which makes me smile.

"It's gonna take more than that to put me out of commission you ugly bastards!" He yells in defiance despite his wounds.

I move out of cover to finish off the last one but suddenly two more rush in to reinforce him, they open fire with pistols and my shields drop instantly; I only barely manage to dive behind a table but not before having a round crash into my shoulder which causes my rifle to drop to the floor as I try to massage the wound.

I cry out and decide to switch to my pistol as my left arm is no longer capable of using a weapon, I peek over the cover and fire at the right most enemy who drops because the Marines also defending our position dropped his shields.

However they weren't the only ones taking losses as I hear Lt. Gomez call out.

"Goddamn it! We've lost Sergeant Hocking and Corporal Wilson, we can't hold this position much longer, how much time until those guns give us a goddamn firing solution!" He yells at the engineers.

He must've gotten a response because he then stands up, as do the rest of the Marines we are almost shaken off our feet as loud roaring boom rocks the room.

"Men, that gun has just torn the Slaver Ships a new one, we need to get out of here but I need someone to carry Private Fletcher!" He yells and I hear a few cheers from the marines at the fact we ripped the Slaver Ship Mini-Fleet a new one.

"You grab him LT, I'll use my Sniper Rifle to cover your retreat!" I yell and he shakes his head.

"Negative you couldn't do that with your shoulder busted." He shoots me down but I immediately retort.

"LT, the lives of your men rest on retreating and destroying this gun now, if I don't stay behind the Batarians will seize the gun and your men will be cut down while retreating."

"Okay soldier, you made your point, I will have you given a medal after this though son." He says reluctantly as the men leave with Alex slung over Gomez's shoulder.

I drag myself with my Sniper up to the top level after setting some Proximity Grenades on the staircase…

"Time for me to dish out the hurt." I say and look through the scope after cracking my knuckles.

**AN: I tried to balance the chapter out, add a bit of combat and character development, reviews are appreciated and also I will be taking OC's for the Marines Kieran and Alexia will be training on Eden Prime so if you want your character to be added please PM me, PEACE. :D**


	15. 2178: WIA

**Now Playing: All That Remains- What If I Was Nothing**

We headed down to the shooting range after I fished out my Avenger Sniper Rifle, a thing about Alexia is that she prides herself on her abilities with a sniper so I will be lucky if I'm anywhere near as good as her.

"Alright Lex, let's see if I've gotten any better than before!" I exclaim with enthusiasm, she chuckles at this which causes me to smile.

I aim my rifle down range and a target pops up for a split second, my reflexes prove to be enough when I quickly shift my aim to meet it and pull the trigger quickly.

My shot rings out and my round slams into the head of the target, causing it to drop however as soon as I do that another one has replaced it, I grunt in annoyance and shift my aim again.

I fire and another round topples over the target, I smirk at my handiwork however I allow myself to shoot a glance to the right and see she has already taken down four while I've only two.

I fire again, and again but I can't catch up and by the time we've finished she clocked up twenty while I've only hit fifteen, she turns to me with the biggest grin ever and I quickly brace myself for the taunting I am about to receive.

"Wow Kieran, you've really slowed down quite a bit, how could you ever keep up with a woman if you can't even hit a few targets?" She jokes and I immediately have a response ready.

"Lex, you know I'm more of a close range fighter, hand to hand, you'll never defeat me and also I'm a biotic." I say smugly.

"Want to test that?" She asks fiercely.

"Not at the moment, I'm shattered and we'll be at Eden Prime in a few minutes, our shuttle should be ready for departure now." I say with a warm smile that she returns.

"Alright then, lead on _Lieutenant_." She says putting extra emphasis on my rank to which I cringe, I hated close friend calling me by rank and she sees my cringe which makes her burst out into laughter.

"You haven't changed at all." I deadpan and she seems to take my statement as a challenge.

"Neither have you, you're still womanless, miserable, and sometimes a bit of a jackass." She teases.

"Oh and you're telling me there's someone at home waiting for you _Corporal Wilson_." I retort and she flinches at her slip up.

"Well no, but there is this guy…" She drawls out and I swear my heart drops for a moment.

"And who is this _Wonderful_ guy?" I say with a wink.

"Well…I can't really tell you Lieutenant, there's two heavy risks involved in telling you, one would be fraternization." She says with a sly smirk as we approach the shuttles.

"And the other?" I ask, interested.

"I'm wondering if he feels anything." She says, slightly more serious and she frowns quickly before smiling again.

"I'm sure he does." I say with a smile as we enter the shuttle.

**Now Playing: Parkway Drive- Boneyards.**

**Andrew's Point of View.**

I fire a shot with my sniper which catches an enemy in the head, causing him topple over, dead and they don't seem to notice my very obvious firing position…imbeciles.

I see a squad with shotguns and my survival instincts immediately tags them as the largest threat so I aim at them, I pull back the bolt and fire the first shot which brings down the leader of the squad, drilling a hole through the top of the asshole's helmet.

I snap the bolt back again and quickly fire off another shot which penetrates the cheap shields on the back soldier's armour and I can tell that my shot has torn through his heart as he drops instantly.

I distinctly envisage something that could become a possibility and I embrace the chance that I may just well die and if I do, Alex and Kieran will stand over my coffin as the only ones who truly knew me, but also McGregor, Stevenson and Westwood, I may not have mentioned it but I went through basic with them and Alex, we we're brothers in battle and their lives had been snuffed out because I got careless in command.

Their wives, who lived on Eden Prime, would have to attend the service, as well as me if I make it but now I need to focus on battle.

They must have reached the stairs during my monologue as I hear the Proximity Grenades go off and two screams, I draw my pistol quickly and walk into the stairwell where I see a Batarian who looked dazed from the explosion.

I fire off three quick shots, one hits his arm rendering his firearm useless, the second hits his chest however it deflects off his chest plate but the last one hits right through his helmet and penetrates his skull, I cheer in victory slightly.

Only slightly.

**Kieran's Point of View.**

Me and the rest of the N-Squad were catching up on lost time when suddenly I hear my Omni-Tool ping and see I have a call from Admiral Hackett, he immediately speaks.

_"Lieutenant, we have a high priority situation occurring on Eden Prime." _He says and I am immediately interested.

"Situation sir?" I ask and looks worried for once.

_"A group of Human supremacists have barricaded themselves in a Turian business office and are holding hostages, they are demanding outrageous sums of money and we need a team to secure the hostages so I'm asking you and your team to head there."_

"We've got it sir, any more information you can give us?" I ask.

_"We currently have a sniper team stationed on the other side of the street and you will be assisted by AFO Zulu." _He explains and I nod.

"Sir, give us a transport and we'll be there in five mikes." I say and he nods before cutting off the transmission.

I stand up, much to the suspicion of my comrades.

"Alright, listen up Cobras, we are needed in five mikes for a hostage rescue, grab your gear and get to the shuttle bay." I say without emotion and they all obey.

**_Five Minutes Later Above the Drop Point._**

**_Fireteam: AFO Cobra_**

**_POV: Kieran "Raptor" Evans_**

**_Other Fireteam Members: Adam "Hornet" Jenkins, Jacob "Rhino" Keyes, Alexia "Eagle" Wilkinson, Amanda "Cat" Palmer._**

**_Starting Weapon: Banshee Assault Rifle_**

The shuttle zooms onto the roof of the barricaded building and in an instant we are pouring out of the shuttle onto the roof where we would breach the building.

"We have a door guys, most likely leading to a room with a staircase at the other end, we are going to breach and clear, got it?"

"Got it Raptor." Jenkins replies.

I lean against the wall and tap my helmet twice, in response Amanda puts a charge on the door and I brace for the breach attempt, our enemies have no armour but otherwise their equipment is said to be top quality.

Amanda had scrambled all comm traffic other than ours so they won't know we're here until we're on top of them.

The charge goes off and blows the door off of its hinges…yes hinges and we storm in with Jacob going first then me second with the rest following, Jacob goes left and I go right.

"Left clear!" I hear him say and I respond.

"Right clear!"

"On our twelve, balcony!" I hear Alexia yell and I turn around, I see one of the enemies with a device in his hands and before I can do anything it is by my feet, my blood runs cold…

I see Jenkins throw the grenade away with biotics before it could explode and I focus on the man who was about to try and flee, I see him running and level my assault rifle, I squeeze off three shots and two of them hit his legs, causing him to drop without killing him however he might bleed out.

"This is Raptor to EMTs', we have a wounded suspect on the top floor, he requires medical, out." I report and don't wait for a reply.

Currently AFO Zulu should be sweeping the lower floors.

"Oh yea, quick thinking Hornet." I compliment the latest addition to the squad and keep moving forward with my rifle raised.

"Watch your corners guys." I absentmindedly remind them.

We move up and round a corner with me still on point however I am forced to dive for cover as soon as I clear the corner by gunfire from the opposite side of the hallway, I see two hostiles with M7-Lancers'.

Jenkins throws up a barrier around the rest of the squad while they rounded the corner, I don't need it as I am with my back against a very sturdy plant pot, shots ping off my cover and cause me to duck even more as if it would help me avoid their fire.

"Cat get a sabotage on one of those guys now!" I order and Amanda taps her Omni-Tool once causing the enemy's gun to stop firing; I seize this chance and peak around the cover with my rifle, I squeeze off a few shots and the man drops like a ragdoll.

The other extremist throws down his gun and surrenders, we all advance with our weapons raised.

"Show us your hands!" Jacob yells but before I can react something drops next to our feet and time seems to slow to a crawl.

My mind springs into action as Jacob tries to run away from the grenade I draw on all my energy and surround him with a status.

"Open fire!" I yell as the grenade explodes, the actual explosion being rendered harmless to Jacob as my biotic energy shields him from the blast.

Alexia fires a few shots with a pistol into the offender and he slumps to the floor in a heap.

I release the status and Jacob looks shocked.

"Good one Raptor, saved my ass there." He says and I nod to him.

"Someone had to Rhino let's get this done, this should be the last of the extremists before we link up with AFO Zulu.

Everyone agrees and we descend the last flight of stairs and I see four N7 Commandos' stacked up on a set of double doors, I notice one is a woman and then it hits me.

Shepard.

"Zulu, we're here to assist, what's the call?" I say.

"We go in with dynamic entry." She says bluntly and I know she has realised who I am but she says nothing, most likely focusing on the mission.

"Alright Cobra stack up on the doors with Zulu." I whisper and I stack with Shepard and two other N7s' the rest of Cobra and the remaining N7 on the other side, I tap my helmet twice and the commando with Cobra brings out a large sheet of what I'm assuming is High-Powered Explosives.

"Hit it." Shepard says as the commando retreats back to his position.

The blast goes off with minimal warning and the door is pretty much incinerated, I instantly throw in a flash grenade as me and Jacob enter first followed by Shepard and Jenkins.

The first thing I notice is the layout three enemies behind an overturned table one to the left with a shotgun, one to the right with a….fuck! Cobra Missile Launcher!

I feel a rush in my spine as I charge forward with my biotics' and crash into him with the force of a freight train, causing him to drop the launcher.

Before I can even launch another blow I see every target in the room drop dead, but then I notice one of them isn't dead and he quickly slams into me before I can react he presses a button and I feel a sharp pain all over my body, then I hear the sound of breaking glass… then nothing.

**5 Hours Later**

**Alexia "Eagle" Wilkinson's Point of View**

The hostages were all rescued and all the extremists were neutralised, it nearly went perfectly….nearly, the last survivor jumped at Kieran and detonated a grenade that sent Kieran through the window, they only barely managed to make him pull through in surgery.

Now he's in a coma, the Alliance have officially honourably discharged him.

When- no…if he wakes up he will have to find another job, Shepard visits him regularly alongside me and a Turian named Garrus sent a get well soon card, a strangely human gesture but that didn't matter to me because I just want to say one thing to him if he wakes up…one thing.

AN: We're nearing ME 1 territory now:D


	16. 2180: Ruthless Bird

**Andrew's Point of View**

I only barely hear the news that the Batarians' are retreating, it relieves me although it doesn't relieve my injuries…I only barely managed to fend off a squad of five and I feel myself drifting, maybe I should sleep for a while….

_TO: TIM_

_From: Overseer Lars_

_Subject: Three _

_I have monitored the activities of the individuals you sent and these are their latest mission reports._

_Kieran Evans: Led AFO Cobra during the hostage crisis on Eden Prime, managed to save all of the hostages however he was critically injured and is still currently in a coma, he was discharged from the Alliance despite not being awake to know about it._

_Andrew Critchley: Managed to single-handedly hold off a group of Batarians to cover his squads retreat, he was critically injured and is now healing on Eden Prime where he will be awarded the Star of Terra, he has also been recommended for the N Program._

_Alex Fletcher: An amazing Sharpshooter, he kept Batarian assault teams and other snipers off his teams back while they entered a generator complex, he is currently fit for duty and is currently on Eden Prime, also recommended for the N program_

_Acquiring the last two will be hard but Evans, being out of the job would be an excellent target for recruitment, I have attached a list of his details now._

**_Name: Kieran Neil Artyom Evans_**

**_Born: London_**

**_Weapon skills: Adept with all weaponry including knives, also a biotic._**

**_The rest is on his Alliance record._**

**_OL-_**

* * *

**_Two Years Later_**

**_TO: TIM_**

**_From: Project Overseer Lars_**

**_Sent: 2180 July 7th_**

**_Subject: Three_**

_Some of the things we've seen are amazing, the two that are still fit are currently N7 operatives so we may not be able to acquire them without leverage, however Evans has shown signs of recovery, if we injected a small sum of money into the hospital they could  
get him back up to speed quicker, the initial damage done was extensive, he had bad nerve damage in all of his limbs lost an eye and he had to have a lung replacement._

_OL-_

**_TO: OL_**

**_From: TIM_**

**_Subject: Three_**

_Do it._

_TIM-_

* * *

All I feel is pain and I lean forward, my limbs pop and I pop my neck to keep it even, I crack open my eyes and I see a white room, I immediately know it's a hospital, I try to recollect what happened.

The hostage situation.

I see a datapad on the table and I read it out of curiosity.

_Hey Kieran-_

_I've been adding news articles and general bits of information about the Galaxy and your friends so that when you wake up it will be easier for you, take it easy_

_-Lex_

I flick through all articles and so many things have changed...

I was discharged...

Then I see the damage done and I quickly do a double take...I lost my eye...but I still have OH SHIT I HAVE A SYNTHETIC EYE!

Calm...

I pass out.

* * *

_**Three Weeks Later**_

Since i'm no longer employed and I wanted a job where I could do some good I went straight to Omega, i'm not a vigilante as such, neither am I a hitman, just a general guy who can do a wide range of jobs for the right cause.

Somebody big paid about a million creds to have my surgery done...not many people would do that and the Alliance sure didn't, I beat feet out of Eden Prime as soon as I could.

My armour changed as the Alliance took away my old set, now I have a light suit of Crisis armour with a Recon Hood with red lenses.

I stopped contact with a lot of people and now I am literally a ghost to them.

I was just contacted by Aria, a rare thing for anyone and she wanted me to come to her at Afterlife.

I stand up from my lovely couch and put on my Recon Hood and grab my Stinger X pistol just in case things go bad, I sigh and attach it to my hip; I walk with a brisk pace and before I know it I am out of the door and on the grimy station, the smell of urine and shit would have assaulted my senses without my Recon hood.

I see a lot of people and walk past a lot of people but they all go about their business as if it's a normal day, how they can do it without caution is a mystery to me.

Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by a grunt and I get knocked back slightly, I had walked into another Human by mistake.

"Hey watch it buddy!" He exclaims and I throw my hands up slightly.

"My bad, I was in deep thought." I explain, hoping for this to end nicely.

"Well maybe you should stop and watch where you're going bozo otherwise someone might hurt you." He growls like a feral dog.

"And is that guy going to be you? I'm shaking..." With as much sarcasm as I can muster, he doesn't take too kindly to this.

"That's it!" He tries to go for the gun on his hip however I quickly jab a fist into his adams apple which causes him to drop to his knees in a fit of coughs, I walk over to him and put my foot on his chest then I simply carry on walking towards Afterlife as if nothing happened, I know i'm close because I can start to feel the bass booming in my feet.

I enter despite the protest of the annoying Human at the front of the line and quickly make my way across the room to the steps, avoiding the looks of the patrons that are curious of me.

I get to the top and see the Asari looking at me with minimal interest, to be honest she looks bored.

"Ah so you must be this man I've been hearing about...Kestrel?" She asks and I feel kinda lame for ripping off the Russian from Splinter Cell: Conviction but oh well Originality doesn't exist!

"That I am, what would the queen of Omega want with a man like me?" I say and she laughs slightly.

"I have a job I need taken care of, i'll pay you, are you up for that?" She asks and I nod.

"A sand dealer has been stealing from our shipments, I want him dead, he has a couple dozen guards so be cautious, run a long now." She says and I walk away.

She gave me the co-ordinates for his location and it lights up on my HUD, in a warehouse next to Afterlife, makes sense if he steals shit to hide it somewhere near the source I guess.

I run until I reach the back entrance and steady my breathing, I open the door and see a guard sleeping, I approach him and slit his throat with my knife.

"Good night." I whisper.

I pull out my supressed Stinger and walk over to the door, I notice a fusebox next to me and I turn all the switches off, shrouding me in complete darkness, I turn on my night vision and open the door to the next room I see two Salarians and I fire off four quick shots, double tapping them both, they drop quickly and I continue on.

All of a sudden the lights come on and I quickly drop my night vision before I am blinded, before I can dodge a Turian swings and me from the side so I raise my left arm to block it and give him a right hook which connects with his mandible causing him to scream in pain.

I press on and ram my knife into his skull then I yank it out again, i'm being fired on as soon as I finish.

I dive into cover behind a crate and see the two Human guards firing with pistols out in the open, I draw on all my energy and charge the one, killing him instantly from the force and then I pop the other in the head.

The target that is highlighted starts cowering and before he can even beg for his life I fire off a round that penetrates his skull, I then walk over and close his eyes.

"Rest in peace." I say and walk off...

Things are never this easy...

**_AN: I know this was short but I have idea's running rampant and I want to get it out of the way already, sorry:)_**


	17. 2181: The Bird and The Lance

**Five Weeks After Last Chapter**

I recently took down a slave ring leader, he wasn't too difficult to kill but now I need to infiltrate the base which is located on one of the lower levels of Omega and release all the prisoners; I don't know who gave me this mission but all I know is it was a good chunk of credits, too be honest I would have done it for free.

I am now standing on the roof of the building, I wired an EMP charge to their automated defence network so the turrets don't rip me apart and now all I will have to deal with is about twenty pissed off Batarian guards according to intel I was giving.

I pull out my sniper rifle and aim at the two guards that are on the front gate, I fire off two quick shots and they drop because of the Phasic rounds I am using, these guys have high-grade equipment that's for sure, I wouldn't normally need Phasic rounds.

I drop down from the roof with my knife in hand and I detonate the EMP charge…suddenly the lights go out and I turn on my night vision mode which illuminates everything in green and gives me the upper hand.

I am now the hunter.

I pull out my silenced pistol and enter the first building in the compound, I see multiple guards aiming in all directions out of confusion and I smile.

I use my Omni-Tool and use a cluster overload that I bought from a vender who was surprisingly good, they all lose their shields and I only need to fire five shots from my handgun before leaving the building.

I enter the building next door and see a lot of cells with locks on them, I open them and the prisoners run away quicker than anything I have ever seen in a choir of cheers and screams of freedom that make me feel surprisingly good.

I exit and I see something I know I never wanted to see, a Gunship.

**_"You've fucked with us for the last time Kestrel!" _**The operator yells and opens fire with the main cannons, I immediately dive behind cover and try to think of a plan….

When it comes around the corner I have primed a grenade and I throw it with my Biotics, it crashes against the cockpit and even it's Kinetic Barriers couldn't protect the pilot, the gunship crashes into the ground in a massive fireball and I suddenly realise how easy I had actually found this.

I make a run for the exit however a group of four heavily armed and armoured Batarian's force me into cover with what I assume are light machine guns.

If I exit cover I will be torn apart so I try to think of possible plans.

I find one.

I equip armour piercing rounds by picking an ammo block from the ammo pouch located on my chest and slot it into my sniper rifle with ease, I quickly peek around the corner and manage to fire off a shot that rips through the armour of one of them and makes him drop to the floor in pain.

I throw a grenade at one of them and it explodes in his face, preventing him from giving Medi-Gel to his comrade and I then finish him off with a sniper round through the skull.

I pull back the bolt on my weapon as the sweat pours down my face, I lean out of cover again and with multiple shots drop the remaining enemies, I am so worn out by the combat that I actually slump against the cover I'm behind and try to catch my breath, taking out so many enemies in a short space of time is tiring even more so when I've been fighting all week, the fatigue is suddenly starting to set in.

I feel myself starting to slip into unconsciousness….

* * *

**Somewhere…**

I crack open my eyes and see that I'm no longer in that base, was I captured? Fuck I hope not!

I see that I am in an apartment building and suddenly I see a male Turian walk in and his mandibles flare when he sees me sit up.

"Hey, take it easy, you've been through a lot recently." He says and his sub-harmonics seem to calm me slightly.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I say, still dazed.

"I'm Jurron Titus, weird name I know but that doesn't matter, you're currently at my apartment, I saw what you did to those slavers and I brought you back here."

"I see…so Jurron, what do you do for a living?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"I spend most of my time pissing off mercenaries, I guess I would call myself a vigilante, which reminds me though you haven't told me your name." He says and looks at me with curiosity.

"I'm Kieran Evans, EX-N7 Commando, now known to mercs and slavers as Kestrel, what do they know you as?" I ask, assuming he uses some sort of alias.

"They call me, Lancer, I don't even know why to be honest but whatever floats their boat I guess." He says and I nod.

"So what now?" I ask and he looks at me as if I had grown another head.

"I haven't got a place to stay and I was wondering if I could accompany you on an op or something?" I explain and he nods.

"Aria has asked me to destroy a facility that are manufacturing gunships for the Blood Pack, expect Krogan, Aria may just be another lawless warlord but it's better than having Garm run Omega." He states and I agree instantly.

"Where's my Recon Hood?" I ask as I am still wearing my armour.

"The desk to your right, we'll be taking a sky-car until we get too close then we'll go on foot." He details the plan to me and I nod, for the first time since I got here I have a partner.

* * *

**Meanwhile On Arcturus Station**

"I'm sorry Lieutenant Wilkinson but we can't commit so many assets to find one missing Ex-Soldier." Rear Admiral Mikhaelovic grunted in annoyance at the N7-Sharpshooter.

"Damn you! He's done so much his fellow soldiers and has constantly put his life on the line, first you discharge him and then you simply let him, disappear!" Alexia Wilkinson screams, still hurt by the loss of the one guy who made her forget everything bad that has happened.

Suddenly a door opens and Admiral Hackett enters the room, causing both soldiers to stand at attention.

"Lieutenant, I've committed all possible resources to trying to find him however we cannot discount the possibility that he may have run from something or just became a gun for hire in the Terminus." He says not knowing that the reasons the scarred veteran ran was both.

"Yes sir." She grunts and he looks at her for a few moments.

"Also we have to discuss your new deployment…"

* * *

**5 Minutes after Disembarking the Sky-Car**

**Now Playing: 7 Nation Army- The White Stripes**

I exit and pull out my Banshee AR as I'm expecting heavy fighting when the Blood Pack are guarding a Gunship manufacturing line, logical really.

We emerge in a small alley that snakes into the back door of the factory, a vulnerable infiltration point, mistake on their part, stupid mistake.

Jurron made a hand signal, telling me to advance so I do and we both come to a door at the back of the factory and as soon as we open the door we are made, and a hail of rifle fire came to meet us and I duck back behind the door for cover.

I peak into the room and see a Krogan advancing with his shotgun and blindly firing at the door, I immediately open fire on him and his shields drop in two seconds however it takes a further three seconds to drop him and he gets off a lucky shot that rips apart my shields, forcing me into cover while Jurron put down a supressing fire while my shields recharged.

I lean out of cover again and see three Vorcha moving up, I quickly hose them down with a long burst from my rifle however a stray round drops my shields then another impacts my shoulder causing me to fall backwards slightly however I keep firing as my suit automatically applies medi gel.

The sharp pain soon turns into a soothing, cool sensation and we continue the intense firefight at the door; I throw a grenade which brings down two more Vorcha heading for the door and we quickly enter the room and throw ourselves behind a damaged Gunship for cover.

Before I can move to the next cover two more Krogan approach us and fire on our position, Jurron pulls out a shotgun but then I see him glow blue and he shoots out and crashes into the one on the left, he then pumps four shots into it, I follow suit and charge the other one on the right and pump a few shots into his head while he stumbles back, his mangled face serving as a grim reminder about the power of a shotgun.

Now some people would say that we are dealing with this way too easily but what some people need to bear in mind is that I'm an Ex-N7 warrior and one of the most powerful human biotics in terms of raw power not stamina though and Jurron is most likely Ex-Military unless he was born out here because all Turians are required to go into military service at a young age.

We managed to clear the first room with my only sustaining a very light injury, so we continue on and I see him take out a large explosive charge from the day-sack on his back; he plants it in the middle of the room and I notice all the assembling equipment around and then I realise why he's placed it in this specific spot first.

I breathe in heavily and inhale more air, filtered but still air.

We slowly advance into the next room and suddenly a shot rings out and my shields fall, I dive behind cover and see that there's a sniper on the catwalk, Jurron also notices this and puts down a supressing fire with his assault rifle.

I lean out of cover once my shields are up again and fire a burst of rounds into an advancing Vorcha who got a bit too cocky, he was wielding a flamethrower and a stray round hit the fuel tank on his back, I notice this and stay in cover until I hear the explosion which is quite loud despite my helmet.

Before I know it reinforcements had arrived and we had a squad of five Krogan on top of us, a deadly enemy force; I look to Jurron who simply presses a button on his Omni-Tool and suddenly a group of ceiling mounted turrets that I hadn't noticed turned on the savage beasts, tearing them apart in moments.

"The hell was that mate?" I ask in shock.

"I took control of their automated defence systems, the turrets don't try to kill us but they turn on the enemy, a win-win for us." He explains and I nod in agreement, damn effective.

We advance again and he places another charge in the centre of the room, I look at the map of this place and realize there is only one more room to plant a charge in, also according to my radar it is housing up to fifteen enemies, ready to kill us at a moment's notice, this obviously isn't going to be easy.

For the second time recently in battle my mind seems to wander, is my presence here doing any good? I shake my head and dismiss these thoughts because of the possibility of them getting me killed.

We enter the next room and quickly duck behind some pipes for cover as a literal divine judgement of fire rains down upon us from the catwalks above causing me to duck to make myself even smaller behind the cover.

"Fuck me, that's a lot of firepower!" I yell however Jurron just laughs and it isn't a humorous one either, more of a maniacal one and that worries me slightly.

He suddenly pulls out what I recognise as a Cobra missile launcher and he pulls the trigger causing all the men assembled on the catwalk to be torn apart by its explosive yield.

I suddenly start wondering what's happened to everyone else and if anyone is looking for me, I hope not…GODDAMIT KIERAN FOCUS!

"Alright that's the last of them, we plant this last charge and get the fuck out of here got it?" He asks and I nod.

We quickly abandon the factory….and the dulled noise of the explosion could be heard even from his apartment.

* * *

"So Jurron why are you here?" I ask seriously and he sighs before answering, we are both sat on his couch with bottles of our respective species alcohol in them.

"I'm trying to overthrow Aria." He deadpans.

Only one thought manages to get processed by my brain even five seconds after he's said it.

Shit.

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter especially those who gave criticism, shout out to my boy TheUnknown91 check him out on here he has left some reviews and special thanks to my friend Alex who read this over for me, thanks and see you guys next time PEACE!**


	18. 2183: First Game Start!

**Now Playing: Daughtry- Every Time You Turn Around**

**Two Years Later.**

It had taken a long time to convince Jurron that trying to overthrow Aria was a bad idea, in fact it took three months; after this we took on several jobs together and we were partners through everything.

We made a name for ourselves in not only the Terminus Systems but also Alliance and Council Space, we constantly raided Hegemony Slaving Posts causing the Batarian government to label us as terrorists that should be killed on sight, The Alliance had a fairly good opinion of us after we released several prisoners from Hegemony captivity but the Council hated us and called us lawless thugs.

On Omega however thoughts on us were mixed, the average civilians loved us for everything we had done however the many gangs and mercenary groups hated us for the all the times we screwed with their operations, although Aria was ok with us despite Jurron's earlier plans but she didn't know about that.

After a while I decided I best head out to the Citadel as the events of Mass Effect 1 were closing in, however I didn't realise just how close they actually were and by time I arrived on the Citadel I had already seen news broadcasts on every news channel about the Geth attack on Eden Prime.

I wondered what had happened to Andrew, Alex and Alexia but only for a few minutes because I found a place to stay for a day, my plan was to try and rescue Tali Zorah and hopefully get on Shepard's crew although that's easier said than done because I have to wait for a long time for the assassins to come just in case I miss them.

It didn't take me too long to find a crow's nest, I took a rapid-transit to Chora's Den and just made my way over to the grimy, dark alley.

I climbed ontop of a catwalk and waited…

* * *

**18 Hours Later.**

The scene was in motion I waited with my sniper rifle, the Turian Assassin asked for the data and Tali called off the deal; I was ready.

Before the Turian could signal to his Salarian henchmen I aimed at the leader's head and quickly pulled the trigger, he dropped like a sack of potatoes with a large hole in his head and I could suddenly feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, driving me to save this Quarian.

I leap off the catwalk after Tali had thrown her grenade at the two Salarians however two of them were still standing and I landed right next to them.

One of them aimed his shotgun at me however I was quicker to react, I draw all my biotic energy into a barrier but not a traditional barrier that surrounds me, this barrier was only at my front so I could put more energy into it.

So now when he fired two shots with his shotgun it was harmlessly swatted away by my barrier and now I was on him like a rash, I drop the barrier and drive a biotic powered fist into his face which smashes the visor on his helmet then I pull out my pistol quickly.

I fire three shots into his face at point blank range which obviously kills him, his buddy is behind me so I drop to the floor and sweep his legs out from underneath him, I quickly stand back up and unsheathe my knife then bring it down on his neck, ending the battle leaving a Quarian in awe of my actions but then I hear a commanding voice.

"Show us your hands!" I comply, holstering my weapons and raising my hands then I turn around and see the woman herself along with Garrus Vakarian and Ashley Williams.

"Commander Shepard, Garrus, it's been a while." I say and chuckle humourlessly.

"Do I know you?" She demands rather than asking and I remove my recon hood causing Shepard's eyes to widen and Garrus' mandibles to flare.

"I've spent so long in the Terminus I would be surprised if you'd recognised me." I say and she lowers her weapon, so does Garrus but Williams keeps her rifle raised and the trio approach me.

"We can catch up later." Shepard says and looks at Tali.

"I'm sorry but who are you people?" Tali asks and I am the first to answer.

"Just call me Kestrel." I say and she nods.

"I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy, I'm looking for evidence that could implicate Spectre Saren Arterius."

"Then I may be able to give you more than my thanks for saving my life, but not here we need to go somewhere safe." Tali says and I think underneath her helmet she may be smiling.

"How about the Ambassador's office, he'll want to see this anyway?" Williams suggests and Shepard nods.

"Shepard, I know this is your show but I also have a stake in this, I want to join you." I say and put my recon hood back on.

"Well, it would be nice to have some friendly faces aboard, Alexia is also on the ship." I found myself staring into her emerald green eyes and I have to shake my head slightly to bring myself out of my daze.

"Thanks Shepard, let's get going then." I say and she nods as we make our way to the Ambassador's office and one thought hits me, I always hated this guy, he's gonna be a pain in the ass to deal with.

* * *

**In The Ambassador's Office.**

"You're not making my life easy Shepard, firefights in the wards, an all-out assault on Chora's Den, do you have any idea how many…A Quarian, what are you up to Shepard?" The bastard says and I already want to give him a haymaker.

"She's making your day Ambassador, she would've told you that if you hadn't jumped down her throat." I say with a steely, cold voice.

"Oh great Shepard, now we have a lawless thug from the Terminus systems, are you trying to create a political shitstorm?" He asks and I snap.

"For fuck sake will you just shut up, I'm done!" I yell and walk out.

* * *

Damn politicians, they're all the same, they never care about the people they're meant to be serving and instead only care for their public image, and it riles me to no end.

A few minutes later Shepard walks out with Williams, Garrus and Tali, she turns to me and Tali.

"You two head back to the ship, I think the Council would throw a hissy fit if we let you two into the 'almighty' Council Chambers" Shepard says and I agree with her, they wouldn't want to see a Vigilante in there.

"Agreed, give me the co-ordinates to your ship and we'll be off Shepard." I ask and she nods then sends them to my Omni-Tool which makes a high pitched PING letting me know I've received it.

Me and Tali walk off in the opposite direction, she is trailing behind me slightly, I slow down a bit and allow her to catch up, I try to initiate a conversation with the Quarian Mechanist.

"So, um Tali Zorah is it?" I ask feinting awkwardness and ignorance.

"Just call me Tali, yourself?" She asks in return.

"I'm Kieran, known to my enemies as Kestrel." I say and the only reason I tell her is because I know she won't give this information to the wrong people and even if she does it's only my first name, although eventually I will have to drop the secrecy side of things.

"So…uh where are you from Kieran?" She asks and this question I can answer truthfully.

"Born and raised on Earth, London to be precise, it's one of the largest cities on the planet." I say, smiling fondly at the memories of my friends and family, but then frowning at the constant feeling of emptiness knowing I will never see them again.

"I was raised on one of the many ships in the Migrant Fleet, The Rayya." She says and I smile again.

"That's cool, hey, I guess this is the elevator to the N- ship." I say, nearly slipping up and naming the Normandy.

After a while of me humming elevator music we came to the top which means we're at the docking bay, I quickly look to my left and what I see stops me…

I've seen ships before but nothing had prepared me for seeing the Normandy in all her beauty, her majestic curves and beautiful paintjob are a far cry from any ship I had seen before, a red stripe runs along the one side with the letter emblazoned on the side and I nearly had a ship orgasm.

But if it was doing this to me, what was it doing to Tali? I look to my right and see that she is staring in what I assume is awe at the beautiful ship ahead of us so I wave my hand in front of her visor to break her out of her daze and she makes a quiet squeaking noise of alarm.

I then hear a loud bang and that noise forces me back into_ **That **_place.

* * *

**_1 Year Ago_**

_After minutes of fighting we had finally managed to defeat most of the slavers and break into the area where the cells are located, it seemed too easy, far too easy._

_Jurron nods to me, silently ordering me to open the cells via the cell block controls, I dash over to them and push the button in the centre that reads "Open" but something wasn't right, the cells didn't open and before I know it I am thrown against the wall and I am deafened by a large explosion that engulfs the entire room._

_I realise what had happened, they knew we were coming, someone tipped them off and the rigged the prisoners like the Taliban would do to little children, I hear an intense ringing in my ears and suddenly want to vomit however I force myself to keep the bile down._

* * *

I feel dizzy and suddenly I open my eyes and see Tali lay down on top of me, then she gets up with her shotgun, laying down a supressing fire on something, whatever it was it's a threat and I quickly go into combat mode, my focus only on making sure I can kill the enemy before they kill me.

I peak around the corner and see a squad of what appear to be heavily armed Turian Mercs opening fire on us with…shit they have Spectre Gear, what the hell, who would be able to access all this?

Shit! It's obvious that Saren has armed these people and are trying to take us out, but why us?

I pull out my assault rifle and it unfolds quickly into a deadly weapon, I look down the sight and fire a few bursts at the lead mercenary however it has negligible effect on the enemy.

"Dammit! Tali, these guys have high grade barriers, can you get an Overload on them?" I half ask, half demand and she nods sending an Overload at the first one which fries his shields.

I also launch my cluster Overload at them and their shields all drop, I quickly make mincemeat out of three of them, which leaves two more to be defeated, not a difficult feat if I get up close and personal.

I unsheathe my knife and take my pistol off my hip, knife in my right hand, pistol in my left and I draw all my energy then unleash it in a charge into the lead assassin.

I thrust my knife into his neck and he lets out a loud gurgling noise, I then turn around and use his body as a Human/Turian shield which soaks up all the enemy's fire until his assault rifle overheats which is a while.

I keep my finger on the trigger of my pistol until I see the crackle of his shields and then I fire one last round through his helmet, making him drop to the floor, dead.

I suddenly feel myself succumb to exhaustion as my last proper meal was five days ago and my vision fades…

* * *

I groan and knowing that I will have to do this eventually I crack my eyes open despite the pain the light causes, eventually I am able to see and I have three people around my bedside, I press my hand to my face and realise I no longer have my recon hood on, after a few more seconds I can see who is standing beside my bed and the sight definitely shocks me.

I see three of my closest friends all in the same place although each one of them looks a little different.

Alex Fletcher had gained a shed load of muscle and I see the N7 shirt he is wearing so I instantly know why, he has a small scar next to his eye and he looks quitr a bit taller than before too, his once lively blue eyes looked a slightly dulled steel-grey and finally he had a neat five o'clock shadow that I bet wont leave him alone even if he shaves all the time.

Andrew Critchley was sat on the bed next to me with his shirt off and he had gained at least 3 shed loads of muscle and he was a pretty bulky guy already, I noticed multiple scars lining his chest however he had no facial hair so I'm assuming he's had the closest shave ever in the history of man.

"Okay Lieutenant, you can put your shirt back on now that I have extracted the round, just let that bandage set which means no missions for a few days." Doctor Chakwas demanded and Andrew groaned, obviously not wanting to miss any combat at all.

And then Alexia, her hair was a little longer and she bore a scar along her left cheek, it looked shrapnel related and in a moment everyone noticed I was awake...let the multiple questions begin...

(I spent the next few minutes detailing what had happened to me and my adventures with Jurron.)

"I had a feeling you were out there kicking ass somewhere but I had no idea you WERE Kestrel, although it's believable." Andrew says with a booming laugh and Alex just chuckles however Alexia still looks pissed off at me for leaving the Hospital without any sort of notice and not making contact with her, my Bros' however were just happy to have me back although I could definitely understand her anger.

Well this day just got a whole lot more interesting...

I stand up after a few minutes of banter that left Andrew in stitches and enter the men's toilets, I look into one of the mirrors and notice how much I had also changed...

I see my Synthetic Eye, its got a hint of purple in there rather than grey but its barely noticeable, I guess one of the guys fucked up with that, my once short and tidy hair was now long enough for me to swish with it which also reminds me that I seriously need to get it cut.

I feel my five O'clock shadow, I at least had the time to keep shaving that so it didn't grow out of control...

I push off the sink and walk out, I know one thing is for certain, we are gonna rip Saren a new arse!


	19. 2183: The Hunt Begins

**Now Playing: Eminem- Not Afraid**

* * *

I want to know what mission we are heading off to first so I quickly head up to the CIC where I assumed Shepard is still hanging around, and when I get there it is busy as hell a lot of the crew are on the CIC at this time.

I approach her and she turns in time to see me, I see her jump a bit and I have to stop myself from laughing, it's not the reaction you'd expect from the First Human Spectre; she looks at me expectantly for a few seconds then I speak up.

"Hey Shepard, I just came up to ask you what our current course is, so what can you tell me?" I ask with a smile and she cocks her hips slightly.

"Well… we're heading to check out some Prothean ruins on Therum to look for Dr. Liara T'soni and if she isn't there we will check out some other ruins I guess, suit up because we'll be there soon and I'm taking Garrus and Alex with me as well as you."

"Got it Shepard, I'll go sort out my gear now, where is it being kept?" I ask.

"It's in your locker down in the cargo bay, it's the bottom floor." She explains and I nod, I am already walking by time she finished her sentence.

I jog over to the elevator and despite popular belief it wasn't that slow….well okay maybe it was a bit but not nearly as bad as people make it out to be.

I make it down to the cargo bay level and see Garrus messing around with the Mako's turret, I hope that doesn't come around to bite us in the ass later…hmm its Garrus calibrating it so I doubt it will…OH GOD, this is how his addiction to calibrations starts!

I dash over to my locker, I turn my head to the right and see Williams messing about with some rifles at her bench, and well she is the gunnery chief so I don't really know what I expected to be honest.

I take out my armour first, my old Crisis X suit and quickly break into it, before I know it I have it on and working then I slip on my Recon Hood and I suddenly get an idea….I wonder if I could get two pistols…

I'll hold onto that idea for now since I won't be able to sort anything out before the mission now, I take out my Stinger X pistol and Banshee X assault rifle then finally my Avenger X sniper rifle.

The feel of my familiar gear on my back is somewhat calming and then I hear the elevator doors open, indicating that someone else has entered the Cargo Hold so I look over and see Alex with his N7 Armour and I look down at my own N7 that I have on my chest plate, I had never gotten rid of it.

He also had a helmet for maximum protection however Shepard simply had her armour on but no helmet and this had me puzzled, maybe she was just fearless, actually to be fair helmets can limit some peoples vision and I've had more than one instance where that has nearly killed me.

I then walk over to them and begin to banter with Alex.

"Hey Alex, if I don't make it…give this to Andrew." I say then flip the bird to him to which he laughs and nods.

"Hey if you don't make it then that would be something, you always seem to survive the most intense things ever I mean hell look at all you've been through." He says and I agree with him because to be honest I can think of many times when I should have died.

Operation Attrition when Burns died saving me, Akuze, saving Alexia from captivity and a few more times that I can't remember as well some of them were definitely with Jurron.

"Hey Garrus, grab your gear and get ready to drop!" Shepard yells at our Turian friend and he nods then walks over to the locker, I turn to Shepard.

"Hey Shepard, I was thinking that maybe Alex should be at the wheel of the Mako, after all he did take an advanced vehicle course before becoming N7." I say and she looks at me for a few seconds as if studying me.

"You make a good point there, Fletcher get the wheel of the Mako!" She yells to him and he puts up his hand before clambering into the back of the armoured beast.

Garrus then walks over to us and he looks at my Recon Hood for a few moments.

"So….Kieran is that Recon Hood for intimidation purposes or is that just your terrible personal taste?" He asks and I laugh, the most I have for a while.

"Yea man but come on that Visor of yours, is that Turian Fashion or something because you always seem to wear it, is it attached to your body somehow?" I ask in a joking fashion and he chuckles, I feel our old banter coming out.

"Alright guys pipe down and get in the Mako, were approaching Therum." Shepard says, cutting off our banter and getting us in the zone for our mission.

We clamber into the tank and Garrus climbs up on the gun per Shepard's instructions then I get in the navigation spot with Shepard next to me while Alex is sitting in the driver's seat.

**_"We're approaching the planet now Shepard, opening the Cargo Bay doors for the drop."_** Seth Green's voice crackled over the intercom and Shepard nodded.

"Let's go then!" She shouts and Alex hits the ignition, making the Alliance issue tank lurch forward slowly and suddenly I feel my stomach fly up into my mouth…metaphorically of course but still.

I wasn't exactly a stranger to atmospheric insertion but I much preferred going in by shuttle, it was a lot stealthier and didn't normally end with a few bruises in awkward places, but I digress.

I suddenly feel myself slip back into…something.

_Jurron turns the ignition in the Sky-Car and he quickly guns it through the skyline of Omega as the Merc Gunships close the distance between our vehicles, my heart is pounding and it's the only thing I can hear over the tension that causes me to grit my teeth, a coping mechanism for when I'm nervous._

_A missile nearly clips us and instead goes careering into a building to our left, this causes my heart to jump into my throat and suddenly I am thrown about like a ragdoll then I smell smoke, then I can't feel anything._

I am pulled out of my Flashback by the Mako impacting the ground at a high speed and I check myself for any bumps or scrapes, finding none I groan and Shepard laughs at me.

"You are a softy when it comes to stuff like this aren't you?" She says, letting out another laugh at my expense and I just groan again in response.

"Never knew the almighty Kestrel would be scared by a Combat-Drop." Alex joins in and before Garrus gets the chance I speak, surprisingly considering I can feel my lunch trying to meet my mouth for a second time.

"Less talky more driving." I grunt and lean my head back, still paying attention to the many magma pools and rock formations that are present on the map.

Suddenly Joker comes in over the intercom and says something about strange readings and they appear on the map as a waypoint.

We are riding along for another few minutes until I am thrown against the side of the Mako and I hear Alex let out a few expletives.

"Goddamit, Garrus shoot the giant fucking Geth, walker things!" Damn…. Alex gets aggressive behind the wheel, I never even knew he could get like this even the tone of his voice is dripping sheer testosterone.

"Okay, Jesus, you're worse than the cry-baby in the back there…" Garrus groans.

"Hey! Screw you split lip!" I yell back, finding the strength to shout again and he lets out a laugh, eventually I see all the blips on the map fade and give the all clear.

I notice a group of turrets appearing on our map a few minutes later and then I see the road on the right which has only one turret on it.

"Only an idiot would try to hit them head on, go around and flank them." I say, basically imitating what some of the characters said in the first game and I'm kinda surprised I remember that much of the game.

Alex silently agrees and swerves right before the many turrets at the front can get a lock on us however he crashes into the one on the right and we take a point black Anti-Vehicle round to the front which I feel quite painfully.

Alex quickly reverses and gives Garrus a clear shot, he fires and the Mako's round shreds the turret to pieces, letting us advance and suddenly we come under a lot of small arms fire from a few Geth Troopers, two Rocket Troops and a Destroyer.

"Everyone out, we need to get to the gate controls!" Shepard yells and the back of the Mako opens suddenly, I grab my pistol from my hip and quickly get out of the vehicle, I immediately come under plasma fire and I am forced to dive behind a rock to avoid certain death.

Shepard comes out next, assault rifle blazing and she manages to knock down a Geth Trooper with her supressing fire, she then gets into cover next to me.

"Struggling?" She asks and I shake my head.

"Nah, just getting used to direct combat again, with Jurron we always went for the stealthy approach." I say and switch to my Banshee X.

I come out of cover with my rifle pressed against my shoulder and my eye, aiming down the sight; I see a Trooper lining up a shot on me and I squeeze the trigger, letting out a quick flurry of rounds which tears the unit apart and it quickly drops to the ground, not getting back up from that one you metal bastard!

My sudden recklessness comes back to bite me in the ass as a hail of rounds crash against my shields and I shout out in anger as I have to drop my rifle on the ground and put up a biotic Barrier to keep myself from getting killed.

I combat-roll over to a crate and pull my pistol off my hip again and send several rounds flying in the direction of the last Trooper Class Geth, shutting it down as one slams into its flashlight head, ripping it off and making it fall to the ground in a heap.

"Yea take that you metal motherfucker!" I yell and suddenly Shepard's voice crackles over my com.

"Wow, you're getting quite into this, wouldn't expect that from a professional Merc." She jokes and I laugh.

"Vigilante, actually." I correct her with another laugh and sight one of the Rocket Troopers I aim at it but before I can take the shot a loud crack sounds through the air and it drops to the floor.

I look in the direction of the noise and see Alex on a slightly raised platform holding a smoking rifle and I swear that guy is a better shot than Alexia with a rifle although his close quarters skills leave a lot to be desired.

"Damn it Alex you stole my kill!" I yell at him and he lets out a laugh at my whining.

"You need to be quicker on the draw Kieran." He jokes but then suddenly I feel myself get lifted off the ground and thrown a few meters.

My entire body aches and I realise the Geth Destroyer had just charged me and is going in for another, I quickly stand up and dive to the left so I can avoid being crushed by the hulking machine.

I then divert a lot of my Biotic energy into my right hand and slam it into the side of the unit, causing it to lose its balance and fall onto the ground.

Before it can get up I put my energy into my foot and increase the mass of my foot, I slam it down on the head of the unit which is crushed.

I see that the fighting has stopped and I grab my rifle that is lying a few meters away from me and attach it to my back and do the same for my pistol on my hip.

"All clear Shepard!" Alex yells and Shepard nods.

"Kieran you take point into the building, we have your six." She says to me and I give a grunt of agreement.

I slowly walk into the structure with my knife in my right hand I am holding it with my fist around the handle with the blade pointing down in an icepick grip so that I can increase thrusting force if I am attacked.

I turn the corner and I see the controls but suddenly I notice a blur of movement and I jump back, barely avoiding a shotgun to the face but then I have the issue of there being a shotgun pointing at me, I use one hand to bring up my frontal barrier that I used against the Salarians trying to take down Tali.

It blasts against my barrier twice and the powerful weapon actually breaks through my barrier however it has overheated and leaves me with an opening to go on the offensive.

I swipe from the left to the right and catch one of the tubes connecting to various parts of its body which starts leaking a white liquid which I assume is something vital because the Geth stops working and drops to the floor, unmoving.

I can suddenly feel the sweat pouring down my face and I have to take off my Recon Hood for a moment to air myself out a bit, but I quickly put it back on and push the button that opens the gate to allow our tank to get through.

We move back to the vehicle and I stagger inside, I actually fall asleep despite the vehicle based combat going on just outside…

* * *

When we get to the gap which the Mako can't pass I am awakened by the back door opening and the hot air washes over me like a tidal wave, causing me to quickly wake up and check my gear, after doing so I exit the vehicle and take out my sniper, remembering that there are some sniper towers up ahead.

Alex and Garrus also get out of the Mako along with me and Shepard, we walk towards the sniper towers and they quickly come into view.

"Shepard, we've got multiple sniper towers if need be we can take them out with our rifles by counter sniping them." I say and I notice she isn't carrying a sniper rifle, I guess she either doesn't like them or can't use them.

"Alright, Garrus take Alex and Kieran up ahead and try to take out the towers while I hang back as a support." She says and I almost say she was cowardly but then I remember who I am talking about and shut my mouth, back to business.

"Got it Shepard, you two, come on." Garrus says in full mission mode.

We follow behind him and I count three sniper towers.

"Garrus we have three sniper towers, currently housing three enemy sharpshooters." I say and he nods.

"Kieran, you get the one on the left, Alex get the one on the right and I'll get the one dead centre." He says.

"Got it boss-man." I say and aim at my Geth.

"Fire." Garrus says and our rifles almost crack in unison, regardless all three Geth are down, I pull the bolt of my rifle back but then I see something, I fold my rifle onto my back as I am about to switch to my assault rifle.

I see an Overload hit Garrus, disrupting his shields and then I see a Shock Trooper loading its carnage shot and I dash over just as it fires I throw Garrus out of the way and it impacts my shields.

I am thrown out of cover and out in the open, said Shock Trooper keeps advancing and Alex is pinned down by three Geth Troopers on the right flank; it raises its shotgun but suddenly it is lifted into the air by a singularity.

I quickly draw my pistol and fire off shots at the thing until my pistol overheats, causing me to nearly burn myself.

I turn around and see Shepard glowing blue, I dust myself off and look at her for a few moments.

"Thanks Shep." I say and she nods but then an evil smirk plays on her face.

"Any time, just don't try to play the hero again." She says, obviously knowing why I got into that situation in the first place.

I smile sheepishly and nod even though she can't see my smile.

Now that the fighting has died down again we advance however I am cautious as I remember as well as Alex does I'm sure that an Armature is on its way.

Our heads are on a swivel however I suddenly hear a humming sound that I recognise as the noise of an aircraft approaching.

"Quick, get cover!" I yell and the four of us dive behind a mound of dirt that gives us better cover than the crates in game and real life.

Suddenly a flurry of heavy machine gun fire and some mass-accelerator rounds slam into our cover, forcing us to keep our head done even more and I see that the majority of it is coming from the Armature as we would have ripped them a new one otherwise.

Alright, let's give them the Kestrel treatment! I try to focus on my surroundings and I see a hopper land on one of the catwalks, I quickly whip out my pistol and fire three cracking shots that drops the slippery little bastard onto the floor, I start to feel myself going into a trance of battle, something me and Jurron talked about and I feel a lot lighter, risks seem less risky.

I quickly dive out of cover and manage to get myself on a small platform with some cover and I set up my sniper rifle.

I fire off two quick shots that takes down two of the Geth Troopers but a hopper decides to land right next to me so I pull my pistol off my hip quickly and fire three rounds into its head/flashlight.

However in all of this I don't notice that the Armature has me tagged as the biggest threat at the moment so I also don't realise the mass-accelerator round coming towards me until it smashes into my cover and causes the platform to groan under the intense pressure of the shot.

Suddenly the platform gives way and starts to collapse, I dive off and try to scramble for cover just for a stray round to clip my shoulder and for some reason my shields were down.

"Argh, bastard!" I yell.

I crawl into cover behind a crate and try to stem the steady blood flow from my shoulder with some Medi-Gel and once it stops I lean out of cover and notice the Armature is the only thing left standing, I fire a shot with my sniper which is harmlessly swatted away by its shields.

"Motherfucker." I mutter.

_"Kieran, this is Shepard, what's your status?" _Shepard asks over comm, obviously seeing my incident.

"A few bumps and scrapes, nothing I can't handle." I answer and take another potshot at the behemoth and then launch a cluster overload at it.

The electricity crackles all over its shields, then another one from Garrus actually drops them and we are blasting away at it with our weapons.

After a while it drops and I am sweating like a bitch, time to go free the doctor….

* * *

**AN: Yea, no badass Rambo shit to take down the Armature, Kieran may be slightly crazy but he isn't suicidal, he actually wants to live and has some self-preservation instincts.**

**Just to clarify, the only reason Kieran is still alive is because he has luck in spades, like Master Chief I mean he had many, many instances where he could of died already and we're only on the first mission.**

**So don't give me any crap saying he's overpowered because he isn't, he would be dead without the other squadmates, like when Shepard saved his ass in this chapter.**

**Ahem. Rant over.**

**Well a review is always appreciated, this was my longest chapter for a while and now I will be doing the rest later, PEACE!**


	20. 2183: Lucky Fist Fight

**Now Playing: Daughtry- Life After You**

* * *

After the destruction of the Armature we enter the structure that will lead us to the Asari scientist and I am relieved because despite the fact that the combat I've been in so far was quick it has worn me out immensely and I feel slightly fatigued, I may need to speak with Doctor Chawkwas because I am getting more fatigued than normal in one mission, maybe my fitness is declining.

I shrug this off and we come to the catwalks that lead into a group of Geth, I see them, three Troopers and two Shock Troopers and I make sure to alert the team.

"Shepard, five hostiles, down below." I say and she looks before nodding.

"Take them out guys." She says as she quickly takes out her Pistol and fires a few shots down below which takes out one of the Troopers.

I see Alex and Garrus take down the two Shock Troopers with their snipers which leaves two more Troopers; I feel the familiar tingle of biotics up my spine and charge down at them with my knife in my right hand, holding it in an icepick grip and my pistol in my left.

I slam into the first trooper however it stays standing so I bring my knife down onto the largest tube I can see and my knife rips it in half; a large amount of white liquid sprays out, coating my armour and the Geth drops to the floor in a heap.

I turn my attention to the lone survivor of our onslaught and I raise my pistol to it, it fires first and a burst of plasma tears through my shields bringing them down to fifty percent so I fire several quick shots in panic that brings it down before it can kill me.

The team quickly advance and make it to my position, I half expect Shepard to rip into me but she doesn't so I take no notice of the fact she is glaring at me, we advance to the elevator and enter it, I wouldn't expect it to hold even if I didn't have prior knowledge of it breaking down.

"Sterile white, Protheans' sure build things nice and cosy." Alex says which makes me chuckle.

"Yea now all we need is to find a cup of tea and a crumpet then we'll be in business." I say, playing on the old British stereotype that we've endured most of our lives, a lot of people gave us a bit of stick for it.

Suddenly the elevator comes screeching to a halt and I jump off first onto the catwalk below however my eagerness makes me come face to face with four Geth Assault Drones and they immediately open fire on me.

I still have my pistol out so before the barrage crashes into me I manage to take two of them down with rushed shots in panic again but no more before their gunfire rips apart my shields and causes me to be knocked back a few steps and then my armour is compromised by even more fire so I feel burning in my chest, I know then that they had hit me.

I clutch my chest and fire several more shots at the drones but they all go wide and hit the white structure behind them and the burning pain intensifies causing me to drop to one knee, the drone's guns had then stopped overheating and they were going to go in for the kill.

Suddenly the rest of the squad had filed out of the elevator and ripped through the drones with assault rifle fire in less than a second Shepard is standing over me with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Kieran, how bad are you hit?" She asks and I cough up a little blood onto her chest plate.

"Plasma, tore right through my shields and compromised my chest plate, few rounds got through it and went into my chest." I manage to wheeze out and she instantly applies medi-gel.

"That should stop the bleeding, try and be careful from now on, hang back in combat." She orders and I agree with her.

"Got it Shepard." I whisper then stand up with my pistol still in my hand and Alex takes point.

Alex advances until we hear a very feminine voice piercing the silence that threatens to suffocate us.

"Hello? Is anybody out there? I'm trapped, I need help!" Liara yells and Shepard essentially reads my mind.

"Quit shouting, this place is crawling with Geth." Shepard hisses.

"I apologise…" She starts to speak but I feel my head spin and I fall backwards just to be leant against the wall of the Prothean structure behind me.

I suddenly awaken on the small elevator that is bringing us up to the next level where I remember a Krogan being, I haul myself to my feet and the squad all give me concerned looks which I simply wave off with my hand, not in the mood for talking.

Once we reach the top level the Krogan marches in with a squad of Geth at his command, he spends no time getting down to business.

"Surrender, or don't, that would be more fun." His voice rumbles.

"We don't have time to deal with this idiot, charge!" Shepard orders defiantly and the Krogan leaps into action as soon as those words are spoken.

The gunfire starts flying all around, Garrus and Shepard are behind the same cover, taking potshots at the Geth and Alex is sat protecting Liara.

The Krogan, obviously eager to get the Asari Scientist simply charges at Alex in a feeble attempt to kill the N7-Sharpshooter however before he can slam into my friend I manage to find the strength to do a biotic charge and my mass slams into him like a runaway train.

He flies into the pillar that could have been used as cover then eyes me with a predatorily grin, he goes in for the charge again and I am forced onto the defensive.

I had fought Krogan before in hand to hand combat however most of those times I was at full strength, but now at this point I am extremely weak, already used my biotics quite a bit in this mission and to top it all off I am suffering from minor blood loss and to your average badass that may be ok to deal with but I'm not that.

I sidestep to avoid the charge however he skids to a halt and brings his fist around, then swings it out and it connects with my skull sending me sprawling across the ground like a ragdoll.

I stand up shakily and my fists are raised in a guard stance.

My vision is blurred however I can make out the Krogan coming in for another charge and this time I manage to combat roll out of the way and counter attack with a biotic powered roundhouse kick that smashed him against the pillar for a second time at high velocity.

He is enraged by this and charges at me with full velocity and slams into me harder than anything I've felt before, the air is forced out of my lungs in a way that is so painful I nearly die.

I can tell I am not at my physical peak because any other day I would have avoided that charge.

I try to pick myself up however I can't and I slump to the floor defeated and the gunfire, shouts and battle cries all become mixed sounds swirling around in my head until the darkness takes me completely…

* * *

**Alex Fletchers Point of View.**

I see Kieran slump to the floor and I immediately think of the worst case scenario, I feel the blood under my flesh boiling, with complete disregard for my surroundings I jump on the Krogan's back and its obvious Kieran wounded it badly because its attempts to throw me off are weak and feeble.

I jam my knife under the bastard's head plate like the old merc from the second game had said he'd done and I lever the knife with enough force until I hear sickening pop and the next few moments are a blur, I pick up Kieran while the Krogan is left whimpering on the floor like a baby.

We sprint to make our way out of the cavern and then my mind lapses….

* * *

**Kieran's point of View.**

I wake up to the all too familiar sound of medical equipment and I sigh, knowing that I probably shouldn't have tried to take on that Krogan like a complete idiot.

I lean forward however pain shoots through my ribs and Doctor Chawkwas talks to me about a load of stuff and in a few minutes I am in my room on the crew deck looking through my Omni-Tool messages, I see one marked as urgent and I immediately open it.

* * *

**_Dear Kieran_**

**_I have sent you this as soon as I found out about this event however Jurron was raiding a Merc Slaving Base and got himself captured, I managed to get some of my contacts in the group that are calling themselves the Black Hand to give me his location, you will need to give them to your CO and hope they can make the time for the journey, stay safe._**

**_-Your Informant Dante_**

* * *

When I first read that message I feel anxiety, rage and sorrow however I stow my feelings into the back of my mind like I normally do and apply my trademark poker face that gives away no emotion to people who I don't want them to see it.

The co-ordinates are uploaded to my Omni-Tool and I rush to find Shepard, the Doc said I would be out for three days with a bunch of bruised ribs and a concussion so I obviously got off very fucking lucky to put it lightly although she said that my implants from my grenade incident did harden my bones making them much harder to break.

I see Shepard as I turn round the corner and she looks stunned to see that I am up and about, she probably thinks I had a few breaks but I am one lucky SOB as Alex pointed out before we started the mission.

"Kieran, what are you doing up, I thought you were seriously hurt?" She says with a tone a mother would use when asking if their child was okay.

"No Shep, just a few bruised ribs and a concussion, I have something I need you to do for me, not now but the sooner it's done the sooner my mind will be focused on the mission." I explain and she rolls her eyes.

"I'm listening…" She drawls out and I nod.

"My partner back in my days on Omega, a Turian named Jurron was captured by one of the Merc groups we were fighting and he's being held on a planet called Aeita VI, I need to ensure his safety, he's practically family to me, please Shepard, I don't normally beg." I say in my pleading voice.

"Okay, I'll have Joker set a course there." She says and I practically leap up and hug her tightly…I then remember that she is my CO and jump right back at attention.

"Sorry, Commander, I should go." I say and rush down to the firing range.

I headed there to find a particular person and sure enough Alexia is on the range firing at targets and I set up the range next to her for my pistol, she then notices me and gives me a questioning look.

"I thought you were badly hurt fist fighting a Krogan like a Muppet?" She says with a question hanging there.

"Nothing too bad Lexi just a few bruised ribs and a concussion, nothing more and nothing less." I say with a bit of pride at surviving the beating he put me through.

"So you're quite tough for a pretty face?" She asks and I chuckle at this.

"Says you!" Is my reply and she laughs at this, I hadn't noticed but we were only a few inches away from each over and I don't even know what was driving me but I was only a few inches away from her face.

So I leaned forward and made her lips meet mine, my heart jumped in my chest and butterflies started going wild in my stomach, the kiss only lasted a second but we are both stunned by it and I immediately feel the need to apologise.

"Lexi, I'm sorry-I-"She stops me with a finger over my lip and returns the kiss with one of her on, but this one is more passionate and she holds my hips while doing so.

"I've waited so long to do that." She says with a genuine smile and this is the happiest I'd seen her since the incident with the Batarians where I ended up getting badly wounded.

"I missed you so much Alexia…" I whisper and she draws me into a tight hug, its true, all the lonely times I had on Omega she would normally be on my mind during those times and it hurt me that I couldn't see her then even if I wanted to.

"I missed you so much more Kieran, I tried to get the Alliance to find you but it turns out you were on Omega playing the hero." She says sadly and I shake my head in disagreement, I was no hero especially not after letting those prisoners get blown up in that trap...

"I had my reasons for leaving and maybe once this is all over I will tell you." I say and she breaks away from the hug and it makes me feel cold again once her body leaves mine, the reasons were the fact that I deduced Cerberus being the only group interested and economically big enough to do my implants that I had done after my accident.

"I'd like that." She replies and gives me a quick kiss before leaving the range and heading up in the elevator, part of me wants to join her but I am rooted to the spot like a tree.

My brain is still half failing to comprehend what just happened and I touch my lips briefly then put my hand back down by my side and turn to face the range again, suffice it to say I missed a lot of shots because I couldn't focus….

* * *

**AN: YEP! I bet a lot of you guys could see this Romance happening Alexia X Kieran and don't worry there's two more pairings that I will be doing, I guess the end of this chapter and the romantic-ish scene were really cheesy but it was my first attempt at writing a scene like this and I kinda based some of the feelings off my first kiss with my current Girlfriend to try and get some accuracy in there.**

**Anyway Reviews are appreciated and thanks to WhiteDawn for his review the positive feedback meant a lot and motivated me to get this out quicker so thanks to you buddy! :D**

**And finally a special thank you to General-Joseph-Dickson who's constant reviews and feedback kept me going through intense moments of writers block and general laziness.**

**So also thanks to all the people who have followed and favourited, thanks for reading and PEACE!**


	21. 2183: Some Crew Interaction

**Now Playing: Drive by-Train**

**In this chapter any text in italics is Kieran's voice in his head manipulating his thoughts.**

* * *

I moved up to my room and I was thinking about my current situation, Jurron has been captured and may be dead but I know I can't afford to keep thinking like that.

_Why not? It's a valid possibility._

No, it's not damn it! He's tougher than that!

_If he was then he wouldn't have got captured would he?_

Shut up and let me think!

Then we have the situation with Alexia and if a relationship with her might be worth pursuing but I can't come up with a conclusion.

_It's not, it's a danger to the mission and besides anybody you ever get close to gets killed, as soon as you make any sort of emotional commitment to her she will die in battle and you know that for a fact._

I won't that let that happen, even if I have to die, this conversation is over.

I walk out of the solitude of my room and take the elevator down to the cargo bay, some of the servicemen keep their distance from me and I'm sure it's because of the stories they'd heard about Kestrel.

The elevator crawls down to the cargo deck and when I exit I see three people that I can talk to, Urdnot Wrex who is a badass Krogan Merc that could easily kill me.

The next is my old partner from Citadel-Security, Garrus Vakarian and the final is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and I wonder who to talk to first but in the end I decide to catch up with my old friend.

"Hey Garrus, what's up mate?" I say from about three meters away as I approach him, he turns and his mandibles flair upon seeing me but I can tell he's happy to see me.

"Oh, Kieran, how was the date with your Krogan friend?" He asks and I chuckle at the bad joke.

"Mate I may have a fuck-ton of bruised ribs but I can still take you down if I really wanted to." I say, half issuing a challenge however Garrus brushes that off and continues the banter session.

"Well you sure are a tough guy aren't you?" Garrus asks sarcastically.

"Screw you split lip." I mutter.

"I'd rather not." He retorts and I can't think of a witty come back so I decide to leave this round to him.

"Ok Garrus you win this one." I admit and he chuckles.

"Well I'll talk to you later Kieran." He says and I nod.

"See ya!" I yell but he says something before I turn around.

"Oh and Kieran, it's nice to be working alongside you again." He says and I nod before gripping his taloned hand in a firm handshake.

"You too buddy." I finish and walk off.

I decide to waltz over to Chief Williams who is working on the weapons located on the bench and she hears me approach, which is a rare thing and turns around upon seeing who I am she frowns.

"Chief Williams, have a minute?" I ask.

"Not right now." She states firmly with a voice of disgust and I can tell she neither likes nor trusts me so I nod and walk over to Wrex.

"Wrex." I say and he looks at me as if he was bored but that's what he looks like whenever he isn't in combat anyway I guess.

"Kestrel." He replies, referring to me by my Mercenary title and it feels weird, before I got kicked out of the Alliance I always told myself I would never be a merc however that's obviously changed.

"So…what'd you think of this mission Wrex? Surely you've seen a lot of action before so is this just another mission for you?" I ask and he lets out a gruff laugh, which is weird considering I always thought Wrex would talk to nobody but Shepard.

"No…Saren is a menace, he has to be stopped plus he's a Turian, although I bet you know how it feels, to never want to back down from a good fight." He says and I'm slightly puzzled.

"What do you mean Wrex?" I ask and he looks at me for a few seconds.

"You're a warrior Kestrel, those scars on your face scream that, where did you get them?" He asks, referring to the two scars on my face.

One traces down the top of my left eye, stops at my eye and then continues down my left cheek and that one was earned fighting the Threshers on Akuze.

The second goes across my right cheek and it's not as big but it still shows quite a bit I got that one from the time I nearly died saving those hostages and the grenade went off next to my helmet, some of the shrapnel went off and screwed up my right eye.

"Well I admit that I do love fighting a lot more than the average human should but I'm sure I could find other ways to make a living.

"Oh so that's why you joined C-sec when you found out you had to get another job temporarily, oh wait I remember now, even in C-sec you went into battle so don't tell me you're not a warrior because I know one when I see one."

"Ok, you have a point, see you around Wrex." I say, wanting to leave the conversation.

"Kestrel." He says dismissing me and suddenly I feel a massive headache come on.

* * *

**_Back in 2173, when I was first given my Rank as Sergeant I was in command of a Demolitions team comprised of six men and one woman, the woman was a hell of a soldier and she was looking like N program material._**

**_In fact she saved my life…_**

**_We were tasked with taking down an anti-air gun so that a larger force of Alliance Marines could land and take out the Batarian Slaver base however nothing went as planned._**

**_Our squad was ambushed and all six of the men died…_**

_My vision is blurred and I then remember what happened, one of the Batarians' fired a cobra missile launcher at our squad, I look to my right and see that Emily is still alive however she is gravely wounded with blood covering her as if a bucket of paint had been thrown at her._

_I manage to haul myself up to my feet however when I stand up to plant the charges I see the leader of this particular group Horak standing a few feet away from me with a Batarian ceremonial blade which resembles a broadsword in many ways and Emily is still unconscious._

_I see a pipe lying next to me and I manage to grab it with my left hand and Horak goes into generic evil villain monologue mode._

_"You filthy Humans, you invade our land and claim it as your own, then you have the nerve to call us the terrorists, well now you're race will pay the ultimate price, I have a missile that is still usable stationed in this building and in five minutes it will fire and destroy the colony of New Guam but that will only be the first of man-"He tries to continue._

_"Enough talk!" I yell, cutting off his monologue._

_He lunges forward and tries to go for a horizontal swing at me however I jump back on the balls of my feet to avoid it, I then close the distance and smack him over the head however this doesn't step him sending a vertical swing downward this time and I don't have the time to avoid it so I raise the pipe and our weapons collide._

_His sword digs into my pipe so I lessen my grip by releasing my right hand and taking my combat knife which is a remake of the **Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife **and then I move my left hand to my side which causes him to stumble, I release my grip on the pipe which makes him stumble even more._

_I then lunge at him and plunge my knife into his neck, causing him to drop to the floor unmoving and I instantly set up a communication channel with SSV Hastings while I found a data package containing the details of the missile on the floor with its location also on there._

_I slide back over to Emily and cradle her in my arms as she regains consciousness, she looks up into my eyes._

_"I'm not gonna make it." She says with conviction and I grit my teeth._

_"You will, you just need to save your strength, don't talk." I order and she shakes her head._

_"No Sarge, I know I'm not gonna make it but can I ask you one thing, one simple question?" She asks, coughing in between certain words._

_"Ok, what is it?" I ask and she looks into my eyes._

_"How did you become so cold?" She asks and her words pierce my mental barrier I set up._

_"What?" I ask, baffled._

_"When all those men died you didn't even flinch and now that I'm dying the only reason you care is because I'm an asset so what made you like this?" She asks and I suddenly realise how right she is although she was wrong about the last part._

_"No, the reason I care is because you're a good ally and friend." I say._

_"Well can you just try to be…alive, not like a walking, fighting corpse." She says and dies in my arms, for the first time in a long, long time I feel tears run down my cheeks and I scream as loud as I can like a wounded animal._

_The mission had changed, not only did the gun have to be destroyed, but the whole base did!_

_"Captain Delfuenso sir, the slavers have control of a dangerous missile and are directing it at the colony of New Guam."_

_"Roger that Sergeant, blow that AA gun and we can come in for an attack run to destroy the base however you will need to get off world VIA shuttle, out."_

* * *

My mind pulls itself out of the flashback and I feel myself swaying, I stumble into the elevator and lean against the side of it to keep my balance and the elevator brings me to the CIC however I turn around and walk down to the Mess Hall where I see a few soldiers and Kaiden going about their business, I walk over to Kaiden as casually as possible.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask and he turns around.

"Oh hey, you're Kestrel aren't you?" He asks and I nod.

"Yea and I'm assuming you're LT. Kaiden Alenko right?" I ask, feigning ignorance.

"Yea, I've heard about some of the things you've done also that you took down and entire group of fifty Mercenaries single-handedly with biotics and a pistol." He says and I chuckle.

"Well the exact number was closer to thirty, I had my partner providing sniper support too so it wasn't by myself." I say truthfully and he chuckles.

"I guess the news will blow things out of proportions, a bit of advice since you've been out in the Terminus you would want to avoid Westerland News because they have an agenda and will try to do a smear job on you, they already tried it on Shepard but that didn't really end well." He says with a tone of disgust.

"Haha I'll try to avoid them, thanks for the tip Kaiden." I say, using a first name as I'm not military any more.

"Any time Kestrel, so….what's your opinion on the mission?" He asks with an undertone of worry.

"Hmm, that's funny because I asked Wrex the same question not fifteen minutes ago, I guess everyone has the same things on their minds." I say and he chuckles.

"Yea but seriously, what do you think?" He asks again and I think for a moment before answering.

"Saren is a menace to the Galaxy, he needs to be stopped and I will gladly die to bring him down." I say with conviction dripping from my voice.

"I never knew a merc could have such pure intentions….uh..no offence." He says and I chuckle.

"I wasn't a merc, I was more of a Privateer for a good cause but don't worry Kaiden, non-taken." I say and he smiles.

"So Kestrel, what made you so…well for lack of better words so selfless?" He asks and I laugh.

"I'm not selfless but understand mate that in my life I have seen so much death and destruction, most of what I've been through would break a normal man but here I am, I made a promise to someone a long time ago that I wouldn't just be a walking, fighting corpse and that I would be me until the day I die."

"How long ago are we talking?" He asks another question.

"It was ten years ago now….." I say with a sobering tone.

"So what were you before becoming a Privateer?" He asks and I laugh even harder.

"Strap in because this is a long story!" I exclaim.

"Back when I was 18 I signed up for the Alliance Marines and quickly rose to the rank of Corporal, when Operation Attrition took place I was still 18 and was the only survivor of Bravo-Six who were a troop of some of the best marines the Alliance could offer." I take a deep breath to continue.

"Then in 2173 I was promoted to Sergeant and put in command of a demolition squad who were tasked with taking down an AA gun on a Batarian Slaver base, once again circumstance kicked me in the teeth and my entire squad was killed, I blew up the gun and the Alliance ship SSV Hastings fired on the base to destroy a missile that was aimed at New Guam and I was the only survivor once again."

"Damn…" Kaiden mutters.

"Oh that's not the best part mate! I was one of the only people to survive Akuze thanks to Shepard who pulled my ass out of the fire!" And he looks stunned.

"That's a lot to go through." He grunts.

"Mate that's not all of it but I need to go check in on someone, speak to you later Kaiden." I say and smile at the LT.

"See you around Kestrel." He says happily, I think he trusts me a bit more now, not fully but it's a start.

I head down to the crew quarters and enter Alexia's room, I see her reading a Datapad and I sit down next to her, she looks at me expectantly and I smile.

"It's been a tough few years hasn't it?" I ask and she chuckles.

"Tougher without having you here…" She mutters and I pull her into a hug.

"Well now I'm not going anywhere…" I whisper and she backs away for a moment, I wondered why but then she presses her lips against mine fiercely and I am taken by surprise, I only just manage to hold her to balance myself otherwise I would fall over from the force.

She pulls back and I find my breathing is slightly heavier and my heart rate is greatly elevated.

"Good….Kieran, I've never felt like this about anyone before, when you went down on Therum I was scared every moment until you got back and then you were in the Med-Bay and I feared the worst, it's the most scared I've been since what happened before…" She mutters and I hug her even tighter.

"Are you going somewhere with this?" I say playfully and she looks me in the eyes.

"I know this word is tossed around a lot with little meaning but….I love you." She says and suddenly my heart stops and I remember all the times we'd spent together.

All the time training in Rio to try and become N7, When she taught me to use a sniper rifle with great results (That's how we became close), The few missions we had together before I was separated from them, When I busted her out and now here.

"Well that's good….because I feel the same way about you." I say and she smiles happily, I give her a long, passionate kiss and then draw her into a hug.

"I'm scared Kieran." She deadpans and I'm momentarily taken off guard.

"Why?" I ask and she frowns a bit.

"This mission is the most dangerous thing either of us have done and…there's a real possibility one or even both of us won't be here at the en-"I cut her off with another kiss and then I put on a serious expression.

"I won't let that happen, I promise." I say and she looks at me.

"You can't be sure of that." She says and I frown now.

"I don't go back on my promises." I say even more seriously and then she smiles sadly.

"Don't make a promise if you don't know whether you can keep it." She says.

"Worst comes to worst, I'll die for you and then you can continue to live your life, I'm not going to let you die Lexi." I whisper and she smiles a bit.

"It's nice having someone who cares because they want to, not because it's there responsibility." She says and I nod in agreement.

"And hey, who says I haven't faced worse before?" I say with a wink.

"Kieran, he has an army of Geth." She deadpans and I shake my head.

"Yea, but it's not like I'm gonna fight all of them at once, with only a Turian Privateer behind me is it? Oh right I did something similar to that on Omega." I say with a shit eating grin.

"You always were a smartarse…" She mutters and for the first time in years I truly feel happy with no strings attached despite what Saren's doing.

* * *

_ AN:** Now finally we will be getting to saving Jurron next chapter, thanks to everyone who reviewed and one reviewer pointed out my lack of originality in saving Tali to get on the Normandy and I hold up my hands and say "You're right" but I just couldn't make another plausible, good, way of getting on there, not one that would make sense anyway but thanks for you're input mate.**_

_**Now PEACE!**_


	22. 2183: Trail Blazing

**Now Playing: Breaking Benjamin: Unknown Soldier**

* * *

It was an hour before we would hit the Merc base and try to get Jurron back, I find myself with my two old friends, hoping he would be alright and cracking jokes to ease the tension in the back of my mind.

_'Why are you tense, I thought you said he would be alive Kieran?' _The voice mocks and I grit my teeth while Andrew tells a joke to Alex who laughs uncontrollably.

_Why shouldn't I be tense? He's one of my best friends and I want to get him out of there._

_"Oh, so you're scared because you know you'll fail." He retorts and I grit my teeth even harder._

_NO! Just shut the hell up and let focus for fuck sake! I scream and the voice retreats into the back of my mind_

I break out of my mental conversation and I hear Andrew talking to me just as I do.

"Hey Kieran, remember when we were a lot younger and I would always do that constipated cat noise to piss you off?" He asks and I definitely do remember because I would go into a full on rage at him sometimes because of it.

"Aye man, you would piss me right off with that, let's go get ready for the mission eh?" I ask and they both nod as I asked Shepard if they could come as I trust them more than anyone else.

We quickly head down to the Cargo-Bay and grab our gear, I'm going all out on this one and taking everything with me, all my gear.

I quickly suit up and go for my equipment.

The first item I grab is my fighting knife and I strap it to the sheath on my shoulder, the next is my pistol which I clip onto my hip along with my shotgun, assault rifle and sniper which are folded up on my back and the final thing I grab is my Recon Hood which I quickly pull over my head and the eyes glow the same eerie red as always.

I see that Alex and Andrew are all using top of the line, Alliance issue gear….which isn't saying much about the quality since my guns pack more punch per shot and overheat less but that's probably because of the modifications I have on them.

I see Shepard walk up to us and she speaks to me.

"Ready for this Kieran?" She asks expectantly and I reply with fire.

"Yea, if I find the leader of this group I will wring his fucking neck…" I say, once again letting my British Accent carry through, and no not the accent with top hats.

"Settle down Kieran, we don't kill people if they surrender, remember that these guys are wanted criminals in Council Space." She says and I grunt.

"Got it Commander." I say lifelessly as I take out the normal ammo of my Stinger X and replace it with a Phasic ammo block, I then do the same and add a Shredder ammo block for my Banshee as I'm planning to be more ruthless as I ever have before, I've never taken this much firepower with me, even on Omega.

"That's a lot of hurt you're bringing with you mate, wanna lend a man some firepower?" Alex with a cheeky grin but I can tell he is joking as he hefts his rifle.

"Nah, I want the satisfaction of cutting through these guys myself." I say darkly and I know that as soon as I can let myself loose at these bastards that I will shoot off and leave the other squad members in the dust, no matter the risk to myself.

I have to hit them fast and hard to ensure they don't do anything to Jurron.

_Yes…that's the spirit, leave none left standing…._

I shudder but finish loading all my weapons and stand next to the Mako waiting for the others to finish gearing up so we can drop.

After a few minutes my companions form up on the Mako and Andrew is the designated driver, Shepard has the gun then me and Alex are in the back and I seem to have a constant scowl on my face when I enter.

The tank lurches forward and I don't take notice, still caught in my rage and even the drop doesn't cause me to think of anything other than tearing the base leader limb from limb and suddenly I feel the vehicle slam against the ground so I immediately pop the hatch and storm out onto the open snow.

I am followed by the rest of the team however by the time they climb out of the vehicle I am already in a dead sprint for the entrance however the front door opens and a Turian and a Human exit with their assault rifles at the ready.

I don't flinch in the face of this resistance and simply gather energy in my biotic nodes, then release it as a charge which sends me rocketing into the human, who loses his balance and falls however the Turian tries to throw a clumsy punch at me, I duck under it and use my left arm to pull my Fighting Knife from the sheath on my right shoulder.

I bring up the blade quickly and penetrate the bird-man's skull, when I yank the knife out he simply slumps to the floor and I continue into the building with the others' close behind.

Once inside I see a long corridor with one turning on the right however I simply bomb it down the corridor and pass the turning, thankfully I manage to get past the four mercs that are running in pursuit at the time and I see them turn their fire to Shepard's group, I keep running.

**Shepard's Point of View.**

* * *

I see Kieran rocket off ahead and I know that if he survives this that I'm gonna give him a hell of a talking too for disobeying orders.

I pull out my pistol as four mercs come into our view from the right hand side and I see Alex pull out his assault rifle, he immediately hoses one down with a long burst of fire.

Andrew fires a shot from his shotgun that rips apart a merc that was advancing like an idiot, the last two keep firing so I just hurl a singularity at them and fire two well-placed shots at their levitating bodies.

We then break into a sprint to try and catch up with our friend.

'Please don't die you idiot!' I scream in my mind.

* * *

**Kieran's point of view.**

As I run down the corridor two more mercs appear, both Batarians however when they try to stop me I simply run straight at them and their bullets bounce off my shields, leaving them at 2%, so I know that what I'm doing is a big risk but I need to get to Jurron quick.

I still have my knife clutched in my left hand so I flip the blade so I am holding it upright as if it was a normal kitchen knife, then I draw biotic energy into my right hand finally, I leap into action.

I slam a biotic-powered fist into the Batarian on the left, causing him to crash into the wall, quickly I then turn to the right and force my blade through the last enemy's top right eye, causing him to fall like the many others before him.

_Nice work._

Shut up.

I continue my rampage for a good few more minutes and kill a good six mercs before I get to the centre of the facility and suddenly the lights go out and I am surrounded by inky darkness, I quickly switch to my night-vision mode and thank god I did because I just barely manage to avoid the Katana swing aimed for my face by diving to the right.

I do and the lights come on again so I instantly turn night-vision off and I get a good look at my attacker.

"Who the hell are you, and where are you keeping Jurron?" I demand with a snarl that would make a Thresher Maw cower in fear.

"I am the leader of the Black Hand's first choice Lieutenant, once I kill you for your meddling I will get a massive raise and I will be able to retire early." He says and I give him a once over.

He is wearing some sort of light armour and he has eye length black hair, he is only carrying a Katana but before I know it a sabotage renders my guns useless so I am forced onto the back foot and I have to try to survive his onslaught.

He sprints at me and brings his blade down in a vertical swing however I dive to the side and land heavily onto the ground, I can't slow down so I immediately get up and throw a grenade in his direction but he simply side steps out of the way before I can detonate it so it blows up uselessly.

I draw my knife as he closes the distance once more and tries to go for a horizontal swing this time however I jump back on the balls of my feet and while he is off balance I launch a biotic roundhouse kick into his side which sends him flying across the room, for a moment he is spayed out across the floor, he then stands up quickly and gets back in a fighting stance.

And as Peter Griffin would say "Round House."

For a moment he appears to have stood still however he manages to close the small distance in less than a second and I only barely avoid being killed, however I don't come out unscathed and a part of my Recon Hood is torn, leaving a quarter of it on the ground where my blood should be.

Ok this guy is really starting to piss me off!

He tries to bring his blade down vertically again as I predicted beforehand but to his horror I manage to catch his arm, I then sweep out his legs from underneath him and bring down my fist, which is charged with biotic power onto his prone form however he pencil rolls away from the dangerous attack causing my hand to impact the metallic floor, it leaves a large dent.

"You're good, not many people have lasted this long against me in hand to hand combat, where did you train?" I shout, genuinely curious however I don't let my guard down.

"Ex Alliance Spec Ops, I left after a certain incident." He says and it makes sense considering the only guys who have worn me out this much are other Special Forces soldiers.

"Ok then, enough talk!" I yell and close the few tens of meters between us quickly.

I pull my knife from the sheath and for the final engagement he tries to hit me with a horizontal swing however I slide underneath the blade like what would happen in Far Cry2 and 3.

Time slows to a crawl and I dig the blade into his eye and he goes limp after a few seconds of struggling, to be sure he stays down I slam him with a Biotic Shockwave that sends him flying into the wall where he leaves a large dent.

I take off my Recon Hood as it is now useless, the only remaining piece of 'Kestrel' apart from my own body has now been destroyed and I let the drip down my face after the intense, life threatening situation.

I then hear three shots ring out and I look down, I don't see any holes so I turn around and see that the team had just killed a remaining Human merc who was attempting to kill me while my guard was down.

Shepard marches up to me and before I can say anything she slams her fist into my jaw, I am momentarily stunned but quickly regain composure despite the aching jaw.

"I deserved that Ellie." I say, risking the use of her first name.

"If you ever pull shit like that again, I will kick you off the team." She says and her words remind me how my position in the team is in no way permanent yet.

"Got it." I mutter as I walk past her towards the holding cells where they are keeping my old partner in crime.

That Lieutenant would never beat me in hand to hand combat to be honest after all the training I've had, he had me for a few moments but he would never, ever beat me.

I press the button to open all of the cells and as soon as I do this a rather thin Turian stumbles out and falls to his knee, I see the familiar colonial markings and run over to him without any hesitance.

"Jurron!" I shout to my friend, he looks up at me and when he sees me his mandibles flair wildly.

* * *

**AN: Quite a short chapter I know but I want to get this out to you before I leave for my dad's, plus I've been all week and I'm moving schools so I haven't had much time despite my excuse thanks for reading and being generally awesome to write for, leave a review detailing your thoughts, thanks and PEACE!**


	23. 2181: Flashback

**FlashBack**

* * *

_Me and Jurron had only been partners for little over a year…and despite that it feels like a life time to me, I never normally wonder about everyone I left behind to come to Omega because after I told Jurron about it he said it was the best thing to do._

_Oh, who's Jurron you ask? Well when I arrived on Omega I spent weeks freelancing as a Privateer until eventual circumstances forced me to join up with him, we became partners in crime after that, literally oh and also he's a Turian._

_I never used to smoke until I got here, to be honest I think the thick smog that smothers this place is doing more harm to my lungs than the cigarettes, I am stood on top of the balcony after Jurron had told me he was going to bed for the night._

_It's moments like these when I do think about everything that's happened in my life._

_Getting tossed into Mass Effect, losing all my friends and family, the death of my fellow soldiers on Akuze and more things that had recently happened, thinking about these things leaves a dull pain in my chest._

_I open my zippo lighter and ignite one of the cancer sticks, my dirty blonde hair had grown extremely long and it's time I had it cut, I take a drag and watch the steady stream of traffic blazing about the Omega 'night' sky like a bunch of rabid fireflies._

_It's a few minutes later when I hear footsteps, this is unexpected and I whip my head round, what I see surprises me and Jurron who is now awake joins me on the balcony._

_"Hey, what are you still doing up here?" He asks, with genuine concern in his sub-harmonics and I never get tired of his soothing voice._

_"Thinking about things." I say and take another drag, the smoke leaves my mouth and joins with the rest of the harmful chemicals in the air on the station._

_"You know that's not healthy, dwelling on everything, I lost my whole family to that slaver attack and I don't think about it whenever I get the chance because it damages me, you need to stop too Kieran." He says and places a taloned hand on my shoulder in reassurance._

_"We are fireflies on this station aren't we mate?" I ask and he looks at me before nodding._

_"Yea, we are small and normally unnoticed but we give the occasional light of hope to some of the people here." He says deeply and I agree with him._

_"Hey man, thanks for having my back, with everything I mean ever since that day you took me on that mission you've felt like a brother to me." I say sincerely and stare into his eyes for a couple of seconds and suddenly I drop my fag by accident, it drops over the railing and down into the streets below._

_"Brothers till the end Kieran." Jurron says with conviction and I nod before we both head back into the Apartment with a lot to think about…but one thing was for certain, we had each over's backs no matter what the situation._

* * *

**AN: The plot bunnies wouldn't leave me alone so yea, this is one of the brotherly moments they shared on Omega together.**


	24. 2182: Memories

**Kieran`s point of view**

I got back to the Ship and I was meaninglessly walking through the Mess Hall. I found Juron, I was happy to have him back. But his condition was bad He was lucky to be alive, and so was I. I saw Andrew and Alex at the Table they were silent I could see it affected them as well. I went over to them and sat down beside Andrew. Usually he would be talking to Alex about a event before we were in the thick of it.

"Hey Andrew, Alex you both down about what happened?" I asked while I had more of a monotone voice than an Elcor.

"Pretty much, I still feel for him even though he is Turian." Andrew replied and he pushed his spoon around his cup of Tea.

"He is one tough son of a bitch isn`t he. Don`t take it the wrong way Kieran I thought he was a goner." Alex replied trying not to offend me.

"It`s ok Alex." I replied letting out a big sigh of depression.

Andrew sat up took his spoon out of his cup and drank his Tea. He downed it within seconds, and put is cup down and pushed it a few centimetres away from him and said to me.

"This reminds me of a Mission me and Alex had before we came to the Normandy. Alex got shot bad and we were stranded on a Moon. Our Mission was to secure some facility which was valuable to the Alliance. What I mean valuable to guy so he could gain a few Hundred Thousand Credits."

"Go on tell me then." I replied. I always liked Andrew Stories before we were in this Universe. Whether he was making some crap up to entertain himself and me or about a shocking story that happened to him.

"Oh that one. Well it was very eventful." Alex said involving some sarcasm.

"Well it was just a few weeks after I got the Star of Terra, we were sent to some Moon in Batarian Space. The Alliance thought it would be good to make us fight more of the 4 eyed freaks." Andrew said while setting the scene using his good Narrative voice.

(Now playing La Coronacion by Globus)

**Andrew`s point of view **

I was dreaming, I was back in reality and I won the Euro Millions it was a roll over. 82 Million. I got the money. Then I was in a Mansion it was massive. I was on a diving board going to dive into a pool of English £50 notes. I jumped and dived I hit and woke up. I was on the floor I fell of the bunk bed, to be precise 3 beds high. Alex looked down from the 2nd bed high.

"God damn it Andrew I was going to have a lie in to 9. God damn it. You ok, what am I saying yes you are ok if you can survive a Tank shot, you can survive a 7 foot drop." Alex twittered on and went and climbed down from his bunk. I got up itched my head where I first impacted, and walked it off.

"Hey Alex what do you think they got for Breakfast, Bacon, Hash Browns, Sausage, chopped Tomato and Beans." I said licking my lips imagining the possibilities.

"Ha good joke, you mad Bro the best they probably have is Porridge with some Toast and out of date Jam." He replied C&B-ing my dreams of an awesome breakfast.

"You could have let me have some good dreams couldn't you?" I replied holding in my desire to mash his Face with my Fist.

"Nope, that`s why I am here to plague your dreams and ruin your chances of Breakfast. Shouldn`t we get changed into our gear before someone yells at us." Alex said chuckling and then asked a good question.

"Do you think I care what some person says to me when I`m having breakfast, they got a problem go take it up with Human resources." I replied letting out a deep laugh pointing to my right fist.

"Good point." Alex replied as he opened the door to the Mess hall and we walked over to the Counter and got some Porridge and Toast. We got our food and walked to the table and sat down.

I immediately started eating while Alex poured himself some O.J and then said.

"I wonder how Kieran is doing."

"Don't care I'm eating ask me in five minutes then I'll give you an answer." I replied as if it was a normal comeback. It was Andrew morning conversation. You would get a kinder reply by shooting a Hornets nest.

The Major walked past stopped at looked at us and moved one eye brow up. Alex immediately saluted him while I was still eating and I couldn't cared less. Even if Harbinger was there I would still carry on eating. He lets out a cough showing he is there.

"Yes I know you are there so go fuck a duck." I violently burst out.

"Excuse me what did you say." He said showing he was more of a morale Man.

"If you want me to salute you move my arm to my Head because I am not saluting you. We are War Hero`s we were ordered to come here as I refused the others attempts. You know why?" I replied to him while showing my renegade side.

"Why, entertain me?" He replied you could literally see the arrogance on Him.

"Because you arrogant piece of crap we battled through a Batarian strike force, and we are back in Batarian space. We nearly died protecting the Alliance. Then you have the nerve to piss off the Andrew. So how much did Daddy pay to get you to Major rank?" I replied destroying any come back he had.

"You know I can have you demoted?" He replied trying to pull rank.

"May I ask where you are from and where your Family are." I asked going to use my hind sight of Mass Effect history.

"I am from London and my family live in London." He replied back being full of himself.

"Hey Alex there gone by time its Mass Effect 3." I said to Alex and we both laughed as the Reapers strike London bad.

"What. You know what you two not even worth the effort." He replied and stormed off.

"OOOOHHHHHHHH" We both shouted referring to our usual Regular Show instincts.

I had finished eating and poured myself some O.J. Alex finished off his piece of Toast and looked at his Porridge and pushed it away. I downed my O.J and got up and headed to the get geared up. Alex soon followed. Some Privates walked past and saluted us. We nodded our heads and exited the Mess hall. We opened the Doors and walked down the long corridor back to our bunks.

"The nerve of that Major see the arrogant Bastards of the land have not changed." I said and Alex let out a chuckle. I stretched raising my long arms and touched the ceiling. Alex tried to do it as well but couldn't reach as he wasn't tall enough. We arrived at the bunks. Alex found his Light Titan armour. It was Black with grey splodges in spots used as a urban camo. I got my Heavy Titan armour and put it on, it was all Black with a Red cross on symbolizing the Death Company a 40 k reference. After a minute and me falling on my Face after trying to fit the leg parts on we walked out the bunks. We headed for the Armoury to get our weapons.

"Alex, why do you prefer a Sniper than a Shotgun. You can hardly aim properly with it. It`s clunky and you can`t really use it in cqb? Whereas a Shotgun it fits all roles. But sometimes you have to run at the enemy, like an angry Scot swinging his Claymore down a hill." I asked while giving a very funny example.

"It`s easy to use you just need to hold your breath and aim. It may be Clunky but it packs a punch at long range. Anyway a Sniper when aimed right can take down a Mako. A shotgun can`t." He replied hoping to beat me in one comeback.

"Bull, it can all you have to do is hit the fuel tank which is located at the Vehicle rear it`s not WW2 sharpshooting you know." I replied beating his comeback.

We arrived at the Armoury the Guard opened the door with his pass card. The door opened and we entered I grabbed my Shotgun Betsy, and Alex grabbed his Sniper. We headed out and made our way to the C.I.C we walked to the lift and pressed the button. The door opened and we walked in and I pressed the button to C.I.C level. The doors closed and the Lift went up.

"You know what we need to do next time we go to Earth?" I said to Alex.

"What?" He replied.

"K.F.C." I said and as I said the K he knew what I meant. He opened his eyes as wide as he could and yelled.

"BACON COVERED CHICKEDN FRIED STEAK. MERICA FUCK YEA"

"Indeed." I replied nodding my head.

The doors opened and we walked into the C.I.C and we walked up to the console`s. suddenly I noticed 5 blips on the radar in V formation, travelling at high speeds heading straight for us. I grabbed the comm and hailed them I got no answer. I hailed them again on all frequency.

"Incoming Hostiles this is a restricted area. Leave now or we will you fatal force." I said.

There was no response. I looked out the window and I saw 5 gunships. I ran back to the console and hailed them again.

"You have 5 seconds to turn around as I am activating the AA if you come close you will be shot down without hesitation and no mercy." I said again into the comm but no response.

I pressed the button to activate the AA but it didn`t work someone sabotages the system.

"FUCK ME GOD DAMN IT. ALEX SOUND THE ALARM TO HIGH ALERT NOW." I bellowed using my deep Rugby voice.

"On it." Alex replied and pressed the alert button. It worked which was a relief.

"Researchers get to the panic room. Take all the material on your omi-tool. NOW." I ordered them they got up and ran to the lift. I grabbed the comm again to hail everyone.

"THIS IS NOT A DRILL WE HAVE 5 GUNSHIPS IN V FORMATION HEADING FOR US. THE AA IS NOT WORKING EVERYONE TO THEIR POSTS, PREPARE FOR IMMINENT COMBAT."

"Andrew look out the Window" Alex said.

I looked and saw 5 bright lights heading straight for us and fast.

"Really 5. Alex does this Moon have a breathable Atmosphere?" I asked.

"Yes why. Oh no we are not are we?" Alex asked with doubt.

"Yep just jump." I replied making his doubt evolve into fear.

"NO!" Alex shouted.

"Fuck." I shouted I grabbed Alex and ran to the window and jumped. We both went through the window and hit the cold hard ground.

"Hey Alex guess what." I asked while chuckling.

"What." He replied.

"Oh we hit the cold hard ground. Taylor swift love story." I said while laughing. Then Alex burst out laughing and we were silenced the by the missiles hitting the C.I.C.

"Alex look through your scope are the Drop Ships heading this way still?" I asked him

"Wait a couple of seconds. Er where are you. Got you. Two are heading here and the other Three are heading are landing outside." He said while looking through the scope.

The Drop Ships flew over our heads, one carried on flying and the other stopped above the roof lowering Men.

"Hey Alex show me those skills of yours and hit the right booster Engine." I said which gave Alex a clear shot.

"I was waiting for you to say that." He said with a smirk on his Face. He lined the shot up and took a deep breath and fired. It hit the Drop Ship span and span and then hit the ground. It blew up killing all on board.

"Good let's move." I said and pointed to the entrance and we ran I opened the Door. Alex ran past and I followed.

"They went straight past us they are heading for the Landing... Maybe not." He said until he was disrupted by gun shots.

"Fuck there in already. There good but not good enough. They need suppressors. Dumb asses." I said mocking them already.

"What like the Kid who knew the door was locked and walked into it." Alex said remembering a funny moment when we were still in High School.

"Oh yes that was hilarious." I replied reminiscing in the battlefield how could that go wrong.

There was gun fire again but closer. It was the next room.

"Alex wait there`s another way in than that door. Stand back." I said while equipping my Shotgun with Armour piercing prototype rounds. I fired 4 shots all in a square shape and kicked the wall which crumbled at my feet.

I walked into the room and shot the enemies, with no hesitation, no mercy and no remorse. I shot 4 of them. One was still alive he had full armour but I could not see his Face.

"Hey you how much does t hurt? Now you tell me who are you, what Merc Gang are you and why are you here. If you don`t comply I will find the 1st question out with a blow torch." I said using my renegade on him.

"Ok... my name, is Salem, I`m a Batarian we, all... are. We are... the Black...Hand we... came here to... ro...b you Hu..." Salem said but was disrupted by my Shotgun shooting him.

"Really did you have to make a mess Andrew?" Alex asked while looking at all the dead and Salem`s, once existing Head.

"Yep he was Batarian." I replied with a grin on my face.

"Come on lets fall back we killed the ones here. There was 4 here so there must be 4 in every strike team. So we got to kill 12 more of them." Alex said while adding up the situation.

"Good lets go." I said and then stepped back over the temporary door. I jogged to the exit, Alex caught up and we headed for the nearest way out. I found the route and we jogged in that direction, we soon got outside after 10-20 seconds. We got out, I cocked my Shotgun and put some cartridges in it. I looked at Alex and as I started to play Prelude by Globus. Alex got hit by a Polonium round. It went straight through his shoulder area. The sad music and him falling to the ground sent me in a rage. My blood boiled if it was a cartoon my head would turn red, steam would come out of my ears.

"IT IS ANDREW TIME BITCHES" I bellowed throughout the courtyard. I cocked my shotgun again. I activated Polonium rounds on my shotgun. My faulty music app on my omi tool switched the song to A Thousand Deaths Instrumental. Which Blood rage even more I ran at the enemies a 1 suitable dual and worthy of a warriors death if it happened. The first Merc was 3 meters in front. I fired destroying him blowing a hole into his Heart. The other Mercs fired at me, missed most of the time. I fired at the next guy getting a collateral which I got a double kill. I jumped over the wall where one was hiding. I dropped my Shotgun grabbed the guy held him above me. I pulled him down as hard as I could on the edge of my knee. Breaking his Spine. I picked up my shotgun, heard running behind me and the infamous noise of a blade being unsheathed. I ducked and rolled to my right evading the strike. I got up quickly and then round house kicked the merc in the teeth. I picked up his knife, and planted it in his skull and broke the blade. I heard a gunshot and a pain in my leg. I got shot and let out a roar of pain. I picked up my shotgun turned around and fired spraying in all directions. Killing 5 of them. The remaining two rushed me and knocked me off my feet. My anger got worse. I pushed both of me leaped up ignoring the pain. My adrenaline rush kicked in. I picked up one of the Mercs weapons. An Avenger III with a bayonet on. I held it by the grip and the body and plunged it into the Mercs stomach and then his heart and his temple. The other Merc pulled out his pistol and shot me repeated time all in the chest region. Only 2 of the 10 shots penetrated my armour. I ran at him he threw his Pistol at me and I kicked him on in Back. I stamped on a hole of his armour which was his wind pipe. I stamped again and again. I got his helmet off and threw it away and punched his Face repeatedly. He tried to say "No more" but I didn't listen. I squeezed his temples and hard as I could crushing his Head slightly. I got up and stamped on his Head until it was mushy red stuff, which took 5 tries. I killed all of them I walked to Alex. I got within 3 meters and fell to my knees. I realized my injuries and fell on my side. I shouted.

"ALEX, YOU SON OF A BITCH,YOU AINT DIEING ON ME" Then I saw one last Merc stand in front of me and point his pistol at me.

"God damn Human. You did well but you will die no..." Before he could finish his sentence he was shot in his Head and fell to the ground. All I heard was "Get a Medic team" Then it went Black.

**21 hours later**

Alex's point of view

I woke up and saw the White ceiling of a Room. I tilted my Head forward and saw I was in a Bed. I was in a Hospital and was wired up to drip and my arm was in Plaster. I saw Andrew, his chest was in plaster and his leg was suspended in the Air. A Doctor rushed over and said.

"Don't move you will pull your stitches you took a beating. If your bullet wound was any closer to the right you would of died. It could have hit a major Artery." The Doctor explained.

"What about Andrew." I said.

"Oh where do I start? Witnesses say he took 12 Mercs down in one go he went in a rage, like a Krogan. He has suffered major injury in his chest and left leg. He is your Hero. He should be waking up any time soon. He won't have much energy he will go back to sleep though." The Doctor again explained.

"That`s his usual thing." I replied.

"You need your energy though go back to sleep." The Doctor said I listened to him and took his advice.

AN: This chapter was done by The Unknown91. Hope you like reading it. I did this to see if you guys liked my chapter. At the moment I am doing a Star Wars fic and a Halo one, but concentrating on my Star Wars one at the moment. I will put the link here. Check it out I would be grateful don't forget to review.

Peace.

s/9354511/1/STAR-WARS-CLONE-WARS-THE-RISE-OF-DARKN ESS


	25. 2183: Noveria, cold, buisness, sucks

**Now Playing: Carrion-Parkway Drive**

Thinking about it I have a hell of a lot of cash in the bank, if me and Jurron mixed our funds together we could probably manufacture weapons and create proto-types to fight the Reapers in the future, but enough about thinking along those lines for now because I still have to get him out.

I am now supporting Jurron with the left side of my body and using my right hand to hold my handgun, Shepard, Andrew and Alex are already mowing down mercs ahead of me however the occasional one takes a pot-shot at me.

I see a sniper lining up a shot on my Turian friend, I instantly push him to the ground so I can get better aim, and the sniper realigns his shot to target me which gives me time to get a good aim at him.

I squint slightly and pull the trigger four times, each shot impacting its target at the end of the corridor and he drops with four clean holes in his body, I smile and haul Jurron back up and we finally manage to break out of the facility and we are still being pursued.

I hand Jurron to Shepard and put down supressing fire at a group of Mercenaries who are moving up to try and overwhelm us.

"Everyone in the Mako now!" I yell and the squad obey despite Shepard being my superior technically and the group's numbers swell to eight, I am stuck behind a snow-covered rock while all my enemies have assault rifles and pistols.

I lean out of cover and manage to take two of them down with eight shots however my handgun overheats before I can get back in cover, my shields drop from the heavy volume of enemy fire and a loud crack rings out over the rest of the gunfire.

I feel something powerful slam into my chest and my first thought is that I'm lucky it didn't hit my head because without any sort of helmet I would be dead however I fall over backwards and I scramble into the tank with the others while the Normandy picks us up.

**A few Hours Later.**

I took off my armour and found that a sniper shot had deflected off the stomach area however I have a large bruise on my chest from the actual impact of the round despite it not going through, the force was bad enough to do that damage.

I slip on my casual outfit which is a blue shirt and black jeans with my father's dog tags draped around my neck (That never leaves) and go about my time, sleeping.

**A few more hours later.**

**_A sickening crunch from the feasting Thresher Maws alerts me to their presence and they chase after me, my struggling ceases when they finally catch up to me and in my powerless state one rips into me with its large teeth._**

I jolt upwards and realise it was just a nightmare

I decide that since it is the ships sleep cycle and I can't sleep that maybe I should get a glass of water from the mess, I stand up from my bed and pop my neck to relieve the built up tension.

I walk into the mess and see that there's someone in there however the dull lighting prevents me from seeing the persons face, I come closer and see that it is actually Shepard and to put it lightly she looked worse than Sarah Jessica Parker, I could tell she hadn't slept.

"Hey Shepard, you look like hammered shit." I say quoting Black ops.

"Tell that to me when you don't get wounded on every mission." She quips back and I wince.

"Ouch I'm gonna need some ice for that burn." I say.

"So, why are you awake?" She asks and I look at her as if she had called me an alien.

"I could ask you the same question." I say, my voice becoming steely cold as I take a seat next to her.

"I still hear their screams most nights, tonight was one of the worse ones." She mutters and I don't know what to do, I'm hardly a comforting person, let alone in situations like this.

I do the one thing I can do and put my hand on her shoulder, I keep talking to her about everything until the morning cycle arrives, by which time we had got geared up for Noveria, for this mission Shepard had asked me, Liara, Wrex and Alexia to accompany her.

I had to use an actual helmet as my Recon hood was torn saving Jurron and it concerned me slightly that the Black Hand are back after the story Andrew had told me, they seemed well equipped but low on skill.

We exit the Normandy and I feel the exhilarating chill of the air coursing through me, I personally enjoy it…the rest of the team…not so much.

"Couldn't they get some damn heaters installed or something?" Alexia complains and I chuckle.

"Alexia, I've been through worse conditions than this by myself, surely it won't kill you to bare the cold for fifteen minutes." I joke and she glares daggers at me through her helmet…if only looks could kill.

"Alright guys lets go." Shepard says and we advance until the security tries to stop us, three guards including the blonde bitch and the Captain, the remaining one was a random Turian, as we approach the captain speaks up.

"This is an unscheduled landing, we'll need to secure your weapons." She says and takes a step forward.

As soon as she does we become like a snake backed into a corner, we strike….sort of, Alexia pulls out her Assault rifle, Shepard does her Shotgun and Liara pulls out her pistol, Wrex brings out his massive Shotty, I pull out my Stinger and flare my biotics in my left hand, I break the silence that follows.

"Don't do anything stupid now lass." I say, putting on my smoothest voice possible and the Sergeant seems pissed however they know we would win in a straight up firefight so they don't engage us then a voice comes over a speaker.

"Captain Matsuo, stand down, Spectres are allowed to carry weapons around here, let them through." The woman who I know is Noveria Internal Affairs says.

I smirk knowing we have the high ground now.

We walk through and I hear the blonde bitch telling us to behave ourselves and I fail to supress the chuckle of irony that escapes my lips.

But suddenly I feel a headache coming on again…

_We had been looking into a really peculiar business on Omega, they had been originally a medical research firm but our client told us that the funding was being taken elsewhere and after a long time of fighting hired guns we managed to get a location of the person the money was going to._

_Nedara T'yari, a real nasty piece of work ex-Asari Commando turned criminal warlord and a deadly one at that we eventually managed to corner her in her own facility._

_"Alright Kieran, get ready…breach!" Jurron, my trusted Turian partner yells and we both step back as the breaching charge explodes, blasting the door of its welding._

_However as soon as we breach I feel a hand grip my throat then the grip tightens until I feel the sharp pain and I see the beautiful yet deadly Asari holding me up off my feet however Jurron tackles her, causing all three of us to fall to the ground, they continue struggling however while I feel my neck, checking for damage._

_Suddenly the fight starts to intensify again as she draws a hand-cannon and takes a cheeky shot at me which slams against my shields, Jurron grabs her arm and twists it causing her to lose the weapon and resort to fist fighting once again._

_I launch myself at the Asari who is now behind a desk with my biotic charge, when I impact she puts up a barrier which dulls the impact immensely however it leaves her open for a biotic powered right hook that slams straight into her jaw and makes her impact hard against the ground._

_She doesn't take too kindly to this and quickly draws a concealed knife and attempts to thrust it into me, I close my eyes however I feel nothing and when I crack them open I see that she has stabbed Jurron in the stomach._

_I feel my vision fade to black and white, hints of red at the corners and I feel a low growling emanating from my throat, on impulse without thinking about I push Jurron out of the way despite his wound and slam my fist into her face, hard, powered with anger and biotic energy which smashes her into the wall._

_While she is trying to get up I draw my trusty pistol however my last attack incapacitated her so she is only able to mock me._

_"What? Do you think you're some kind of cowboy, well don't worry you will piss off the wrong person eventually" Her voice is filled with hatred._

_"A cowboy eh?" I say and she looks puzzled._

_I quickly pick her up by the neck and slam her into the window repeatedly until the glass cracks slightly, I can see the fear coming from her eyes._

_"Ever heard of Die Hard?" She quickly shakes her head._

_ "Well then, Yippee-Kai-Yay motherfucker." I say emphasising the last word and I drop her, which puzzles her for a moment however I bring my leg forward quickly and she flies out of the window with the broken glass down to the streets below._

Light suddenly assaults my retinas and I find myself lying on a bed in what looks like a medical centre and I notice that there is nobody around, the doctors are probably doing other things but one worrying thought occupies my mind.

_My Flashbacks are getting worse._

I quickly grab my things and look at my Omni-Tool for the location of the rest of the squad, it turns out they are already looking for the data that the Turian needs, which means that blonde bitch will be there.

I put on my helmet and pull out my pistol and quickly jog/run to the elevator that would take me into the Synthetic Insights office I get ugly looks from the security officers however I shrug this off and charge like an angry buffalo, I eventually find it and press the button to go up however I am stuck waiting for a few minutes.

Once I exit the elevator I see two dirty-cops with assault rifles guarding the stairs however before they can even cry out for help I throw my arm out in their direction and a powerful shockwave throws them against the wall knocking them unconscious, I didn't kill them as that would create unnecessary noise.

I walk up the steps and I see the group in a stand-off with four officers including the bitch, Alexia seems to be the only one who notices me so I biotic charge the Turian on the far left, funny how I hated the bitch officer so much I never remembered her name.

I slam into him, much to the alarm of the others however the shock of my entrance keeps them paralyzed, I slam a biotic fist into the Turians face, crushing his skull with the force of the impact; I then aim my handgun at the Human officer on my right as she levels her rifle at me.

I fire off four shots that rips through her cheap corporate shielding and the last round penetrates her skull, by this time Wrex, Liara and Alexia all unleashed hell on the other Turian officer which leaves only the bitch standing.

I see Shepard's arm light up a dangerous blue and I see her send a Warp at the corrupt cop which impacts and starts tearing away at her armour, I also throw a Warp which causes a powerful biotic explosion that leaves her body singed by our combined power.

Shepard and the rest of the team walk up to me after the air of excitement had died down.

"Nice entrance Kieran, although a little on the flashy side for me, you could've just shot them." Shepard says with a wink and I laugh.

"Hey, I love getting up close and personal, I didn't become one of the best hand to hand fighters in the galaxy for no reason." I say, still grinning widely and I just realise how truly cocky I had become, I needed to train more to make sure I stay on top of my game if I get into CQC with Saren.

"Wanna test that Kestrel?" Wrex asks and pounds his hand together with his fist.

"Maybe later big guy, we need to try and find the Matriarch right Ellie?" I ask and she nods.

"Well that's go get that done then!" Alexia yells and everyone agrees…

**AN: OMG guys im so sorry I haven't updated properly for ages but I've just moved to a new school and a lot of stuff has been going on, I know that's not really an excuse but ya know? **

**Leave your thoughts in a review because they are much appreciated.**

**Special Thanks Too: TheUnknown91, general-joseph-dickson, Whitedawn and Zomvee for their feedback :D**


	26. 2183: Freeze-Thaw Shock

**Now Playing: Hollywood Undead-This Love This Hate**

We managed to lock up the Asshole Administrator, I really did hate him because he called me a lawless piece of hired muscle.

The NIA woman had given us a garage pass and we looked over the armoured vehicle provided to us; it looked like our Mako however the cannon was of a lesser quality and I knew that would make it harder for us on the way to Peak 15, I suddenly hear a clank behind one of the crates.

"Shepard we have movement!" I yell and pull out my assault rifle, the entire squad turns around just as a unit of four Geth troopers and one Destroyer come into view and they open fire on us immediately, forcing us to take cover behind the tank.

The sheer volume of the fire is intense and I grit my teeth, I lean out of cover and squeeze the trigger my weapon releases a long burst of about twelve rounds that tear one of the troopers apart, I come out of cover just to see Wrex pretty much rugby tackle the larger Geth unit and smash his fist into the chest plating, he manages to penetrate the plating and rips out a few vital wires, destroying it with extreme prejudice.

Shepard throws a powerful singularity at one of the lone Geth on the left and Alexia skilfully takes it down with a precise shot from her beloved sniper rifle that rips off its flashlight head.

Liara manages to take one down clumsily with her pistol, much to my surprise, I confirm that there's only one left and once I do I use my biotic energy to quickly zip across the ground between me and the enemy so I throw my leg out into a deadly biotic roundhouse kick that turns the final trooper into scrap metal.

"Enemies are all down, let's get in the vehicle and set on the road." Shepard says and we all agree, finally entering the vehicle before the Noveria Security Forces approach us about the gunfire.

"Kieran I want you to sit in the back, Liara you are also in the back, Wilkinson you're the Navigator and finally Wrex I want you on the gun." Shepard orders with her usual charisma.

"Got it Ellie." I say with no enthusiasm and I sit in the back with the beautiful Asari scientist.

"So, Dr. T'soni have you spoken to many of the crew yet?" I ask, trying to start a conversation and she looks shocked that I am so friendly-ish.

"Um- well yes, Alex came by to check in on me after you rescued me from Therum, he seems like a very kind individual." She says with a purple tinge rising in her cheeks.

"He is, he also happens to be one my best friends." I say and I notice that despite the fact we had been riding for about three minutes we hadn't encountered any Geth and I sit in contemplative silence until suddenly I feel a sharp jolt, hear a loud explosion and suddenly I feel myself get thrown to the side and I soon realise the Mako had been flipped upside-down.

I'm lucky to not be injured however I see Liara has managed to injure her arm so I patch my helmet to Shepard's frequency and immediately enquire about what's happening.

"Dammit Shepard, what the hell happened?" I ask and she responds quicker and differently to what I expected.

"Fuck, A Geth ship just attacked the Mako, its shields are gone and the plating has been turned to slag! Get out NOW!" She yells, extremely worried unlike her normal calm aura of command.

I struggle to open the hatch at the back of the tank but eventually after a long battle with the door it gives in and the freezing cold air rushes into the vehicle before I can even blink.

I stumble out into the blustering blizzard with my assault rifle resting into my shoulder and I immediately see a Geth Trooper going for the downed Mako.

I quickly pull the trigger of my rifle on reflex, the deadly weapon unleashes a hail of rounds onto the lone trooper; it isn't too long before its shields die and a round pierces its flashlight head.

A round whizzes past my head, missing me by an causing me to drop down on one knee out of reflex to minimize myself as a target.

I turn around and see a Geth Dropship with its main cannon pointing at our position and I am frozen to the spot, is this the end of the road for me?

I suddenly feel the ground start to shake as the chill of the blizzard begins to numb my toes and out of nowhere I see the Normandy swoop down and fire some sort of weapon at the ship and it is vaguely reminiscent of the scene where it swoops down on Vancouver in Mass Effect 3.

I then see the Normandy hover next to the cliff, two armoured figures leap out, I then see Shepard assisting Liara to the Cargo Bay while Wrex limps over with her, probably not by his own choice mind because he would want to keep fighting knowing him.

I can feel the frost biting into me with its vicious teeth as the two armoured figures approach alongside Shepard, I soon recognise them as my partners in crime, Alex and Andrew however they start charging at a group of Geth and quickly cut them down with shotguns.

Damn it I'm British, I'm meant to be used to crappy weather!

"Looks like you could use some 'elp" Alex says as the last of the Geth die quickly and I know he is thinking along the same lines as me 'The hell? This didn't happen in the game!

"Aye man, the Geth ship came out of nowhere and the Mako's been reduced to scrap." I say while slightly shaking my head.

"Enough chatter, we need to get inside before the weather overwhelms our suits." Shepard calls out, I lift my rifle up to my chest and take a cautious step forward just for a rocket to barely miss me and make me dive over to my right for cover behind a rock.

The constant fire of the turret is beating down on me like the sun in the Sahara Desert, I suddenly hear a massive explosion that sounded like someone had brought down a dreadnought; I notice that the fire has stopped so I poke my head around the rock and see that the turret has been destroyed, I also see Andrew holding a smoking Cobra Missile Launcher standing in an epic pose.

"Andrew, are you done showing off? Let's get inside!" I say with a chuckle however I notice the deep cold seeming to overwhelm my senses and I stagger inside the warm (By comparison) building just behind Shepard.

As soon as we enter we are assaulted by gunfire from three Krogan and a Geth Destroyer, I pull out my pistol and fire multiple shots at the Destroyer as it charges me however it closes the distance before I can get the killshot in.

It swings at me and I duck under its clumsy swing, I come back up and do a biotic uppercut that sends it crashing to the ground however it immediately gets back up and grabs me by the throat before I can react, it slowly applies pressure, cutting off my access to air and causing my to nearly asphyxiate.

Just as I feel burning in my lungs I feel the pressure stop and I am thrown to the ground I cough heavily causing my throat to burn for a moment however it quickly stops and I am breathing normally again.

Shepard walks over to me and offers her hand, I accept and grab her hand, and she hauls me to my feet; I am still holding my pistol and I notice the fighting has stopped when I see Andrew and Alex standing next to three dead Krogan, now I am technically older than those two by a few years despite being three years younger in my old universe.

"You seem to be losing your touch old man, maybe it is time for you to retire." Andrew says with a joking tone and I joke right back.

"Hey im only 31, I can still kick ass you know?" I say with an offended tone.

"Meh, details." He waves off my comment and we continue forward.

We come into the room with the backwards facing turrets and Alex leaps at the opportunity to voice his thoughts.

"Why are the turrets facing the wrong way?" Alex asks.

"The guy who installed them probably had too much vodka." I say with a chuckle which gets Andrew to laugh slightly.

"Maybe they want to keep something in just as much as they want to keep others out." Shepard suggests and I nod in agreement even though I already know that the Rachni are being kept at bay.

And this is where we wipe them out…

_I feel the light breeze of the London air brush past my hair and I look back at Grace who just smiles, I lean in and kiss her soft lips, suddenly the scene changes and I am confronted once again by the disgusting smell of Omega, I see a Turian man and child being cornered by a gang of Humans and before I can open fire they are both cut down by the gang while I try to scream in anger the scene changes once more..._

_I am in my room, I see my old friend Robbie and we have Parkway Drive blaring at full volume, the song Dark Days is playing._

* * *

_What will you tell your children  
When they ask you "what went wrong"  
How can you paint a picture of a paradise lost  
To eyes that know only a wasteland  
How will you justify, justify watching the world die_

The clock is ticking, can't you feel our days are numbered  
Head first into disaster from which there will be no return  
With narrow minds we decimate our one true home  
Cast into oblivion, judgment is calling

Behold the pale horse  
This is the funeral of the Earth  
Behold the pale horse  
This is the funeral  
[ Lyrics from: . ]  
The blind eye can no longer be cast  
The clock is ticking, there is no second chance  
The blind eye can no longer be cast  
There will be no future, if we can't learn from our mistakes  
The clock is ticking, there is no second chance  
There will be no future, if we can't learn

A forced extinction closes out the age of apathy  
The final act, sacrifice the world's ecology  
The death of beauty, the death of hope  
Cast before the throne of avarice, judgment is calling

Behold the pale horse  
This is the funeral of the Earth  
Behold the pale horse  
This is the funeral

The blind eye can no longer be cast  
There will be no future, if we can't learn from our mistakes  
The clock is ticking, there is no second chance  
There will be no future, if we can't learn

* * *

I am then yanked out of the flashbacks and drop to my knee...

* * *

**AN: Short chapter and I haven't released one for ages, my explanation is that I am dealing with deep depression and I am struggling to concentrate when I write and my co-writer is going through a tough time at the moment too so I couldn't ask him to take over for this chapter.**

**Once again guys im sorry but it will get better when I do and don't forget to suggest ideas for OC's as I will accept quite a few for the next edition of the story, I would appreciate reviews however go gentle with the criticism as I have been having a tough time.**


	27. 2183: Taking back her mind

**Now Playing: Lose Yourself-Eminem**

* * *

I feel groggy and I find myself sitting up again in a medical room and I immediately recognise the scientist in here as the one trying to synthesise a cure but I then wonder why I'm in here…I ponder it for a few moments and an answer comes to mind.

As soon as I realise the flashbacks put me down for the count again I feel a slight headache coming on and I stand up, I see he didn't take any of my gear off for which I am thankful however I whack him over the head to knock him out so he doesn't try to stop me leaving.

I walk across the hall back to where Captain Ventralis should be and I see him on the barricade, he and his men all looked equally wiped out from fatigue; being quite fair to them they seemed like some tough sons of bitches but they stand in my way.

"Captain, where is Commander Shepard?" I ask and he looks at me as if I had grown another head.

"She went to the hot labs to find the Asari.." He groans and I immediately pick up on his suspicious behaviour I then remember that he tries to kill Shepard.

"What are you hiding from me Captain, I know for a fact the Asari isn't in the Hot Labs, maybe she ordered you to give her false information in the hope Shepard would die, so tell me am I close?" I say with a cocky grin.

"Shit…take him down!" He yells and before I can dive for cover about five shots impact my shields and brings them down to 80% so I literally dive to the right which sends me into cover behind a crate.

I pull out my assault rifle and peek out of cover, I see one of the Turian guards standing out in the open, weather it was because of stupidity or the stims I don't know however I pull the trigger regardless and let out a hellstorm of fire against him which quickly drops his shields and riddles his chest with holes, he falls limply to the floor.

I exploit the shock they experience from losing their comrade and throw a grenade at them, their dulled awareness caused it to explode before they could notice which killed two of them and wounded another tremendously meaning he would probably bleed out before the fight ends.

Soon it was just down to me, the Captain and a random Human who I quickly drilled between the eyes when I switched to my pistol after my rifle overheated; it nearly singed my hand.

I fire off a quick shot at the Captain, the grenade from earlier dropped his shields so my shot went straight into his shoulder, causing him to drop his weapon and slump to the ground in pain.

Before I can finish him off I hear the dull ping that signals the opening of an elevator door, I see Shepard exit with a demanding scowl on her face; she stomps up to me and prods a finger into my chest plate.

"Goddamit Kieran, what's the meaning of this, killing the men who are trying to protect these people?" She yells and to my credit I manage to stay calm in the face of the raging Spectre.

"Shepard, the Captain was under orders from Matriarch Benezia to kill you and the rest of our squad, I merely stopped him before he could carry out the order." I say calmly, much in contrast to her.

"Fair enough, let's get moving and find that Asari." Shepard says and Andrew smashes his fist against his palm in delight.

Alex brings out his assault rifle, Andrew draws his shotgun and Shepard sticks to her handcannon of a pistol.

We move forward however a squad of Turian guards with numbers of four move to intercept us.

Alex fires off a quick burst that drops the first enemy while Andrew obliterates the second with a close range shot from his shotgun that sends meaty chunks of Turian flesh everywhere, some blood coats my armour and I gain a feral grin.

I throw a singularity at the last two and it ensnares them in mid-air, Shepard reads my mind and throws a warp at the singularity and it explodes, annihilating them both with our combined biotic energy.

A squad of eight guards rush in and several shots impact my shields I launch myself at the group with a charge and I slam into the Human at the back of the group, I point my pistol point blank at his head and fire off five shots, that's all it takes to stain the walls with his brains.

I spin round and see Andrew rip apart an Asari with his trusty shotgun severing her head from her body and leaving a mess of blood and gore coating the ground.

I throw a grenade in there and three of them quickly die, Shepard then headshots another causing him to slump to the ground while Alex finishes off the last two with his assault rifle.

All of the enemies had been killed, the game had exaggerated their numbers greatly and we make our way into the broad chamber that houses the Rachni queen.

As we walk in Benezia turns to us and starts her typical villain monologue.

"You do not know the privilege of being a moth-" Her voice chills me to the bone and I fire off a shot with my pistol on impulse that is deflected by her biotic barrier, she launches a throw at me which slams me against the wall.

My head rings like a fire bell and I try to stand up however I stumble and fall backwards while the Asari Commandos' pour into the room, they're a swarm of hornets.

I grab my assault rifle off my back while Shepard and the team kill the first few that scramble to have a piece of her, two Commandos' appear on my right and I quickly biotic charge at them, I slam into the lead one however she put up a barrier at the last second that takes most of the force.

I sweep my leg out underneath the Asari and she falls to the floor, I draw biotic energy into my foot and curb stomp her, crushing her small head under my boot.

Suddenly time stops and I fear that I'm having another flashback however I don't feel myself losing consciousness, I find myself in a black abyss and I suddenly fear the worst, did my shields drop without me noticing?

**"I can hear what you're thinking and no, you are very much alive Kieran Evans." **A familiar voice alerts me to his presence, I recognise it as the being that brought me here.

"Who are you and why did you bring me here?" I demand harshly and he seems to get pissed off by this.

**"You were needed and you're here because I need to tell you how to break Benezia from her indoctrination." **He announces calmly with a slow undertone of distaste.

"I thought it was impossible to do that?" I ask in confusion and he seems to snicker.

**"No it isn't, get her to meld minds with you and be prepared for a fight, this universe is counting on you Kieran, remember that." **I gulp and suddenly I am back in combat.

* * *

I quickly draw my combat knife quickly before the Asari can attack me I ram it into her neck; so much for Asari Commandos' although I was N7 so maybe they are good and I'm just better, maybe I'm getting a tad cocky.

I turn around and see two Geth snipers across from me I quickly draw my pistol and fire off seven crack shots that drill them both in the head, a shot from across the other side of the room hits my shields and makes me stumble back from the unexpected hit.

"Motherfucker." I mutter and suddenly four more shots slam against me followed by a loud crack and suddenly everything goes numb, the sounds of battle have stopped and I stumble over to Benezia who has now started talking about the indoctrination.

My squad realizes what is wrong with me as soon as I approach.

"Dammit, Shepard Kieran's taken a bad hit to the chest, he needs Medi-Gel!" Andrew yells, I look down and see a large hole in my chest plate and I fall to my knees.

"No, leave it for now I need to meld with you Benezia, I can stop the indoctrination…" I cough and while she seems opposed to the idea she nods and walks over to my kneeling form.

"Very well Kestrel…embrace eternity!" She yells and suddenly I am standing in a black plain that stretches out forever in all directions and I draw my knife as the "God" told me to expect a fight.

Suddenly Benezia appears out of the blackness and throws a biotic punch at me which I barely manage to duck under then I stab her through the chin with my knife however her body doesn't leak blood it just vanishes.

I hear a footstep behind me so I drop to my knee and sweep my leg around backwards, she falls to the floor and I quickly stamp my foot over her head and this endless cycle of battle goes on for several more minutes until what looks like a Reaper Brute appears in front of me.

Before I can react it charges and slams into me, it forces the air out of my lungs and sends me flying across the flat ground at a high speed and I feel pain shoot all across my body.

I stand up quickly and it charges at me again however this time I'm ready for it and launch myself at it with a biotic charge, the impact causes it to stumble backwards so I manage to quickly slide around it and leap onto its back.

It struggles like a whale caught in a fishing net and I only barely manage to draw my knife again and start slashing at the cables located on this creatures back but eventually it falls the ground with a loud sound and I fall off backwards, exhausted….even in the meld I feel myself fading away….

I open my eyes and see the familiar face of the good Doctor, she looks at me with a kind smile however I quickly look down and see a large bandage on my chest from where the bullet went in and I grimace at the thought.

"What's the call Doctor?" I say and she looks at me sternly before answering.

"You're clear to go however I must warn you that you won't be able to partake in the next mission, I suggest resting in your room for a while oh and your shirt's to the right of you." She says and I grab my shirt and put it on quickly.

Once sorted out I quickly bolt to my room and take my acoustic guitar out of its case, I briefly exam the familiar design and then I begin to play the one song I know how to play by heart, the acoustic version of Scars by Papa Roach.

I begin playing the song and singing along, soon finding my rhythm again.

* * *

watch?v=oF0xd-TIINA

"I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much  
My scars remind me that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel

Drunk and I'm feeling down  
And I just wanna be alone  
I'm pissed 'cause you came around  
Why don't you just go home  
Cause you channel all your pain  
And I can't help you fix yourself  
Your making me insane  
All I can say is

I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much and  
Our scars remind us that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel

I tried to help you once  
Against my own advice  
I saw you going down  
But you never realized  
That your drowning in the water  
So I offered you my hand  
Compassion's in my nature  
Tonight is our last stand

I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut  
My weakness is that I care too much and  
Our scars remind us that the past is real  
I tear my heart open just to feel

I'm drunk and I'm feeling down  
And I just wanna be alone  
You shouldn't ever came around  
Why don't you just go home?  
Cause your drowning in the water  
And I tried to grab your hand  
And I left my heart open  
But you didn't understand-" Before I can finish the song I hear my door open and Shepard walks in, I can feel blood rushing to my face as nobody has ever heard me sing before.

"Oh hey Ellie…um…can I help you?" I ask, embarrassed.

"Well I just heard you singing and thought I'd listen, sorry if I scared you….who knew the famous Bounty Hunter Kestrel would be shy?" She said with a wink and I let out a quiet laugh.

"It was one of the few things my dad taught me before he passed…the guitar I mean." I say with a bitter smile and look at the dog tags around my neck quickly so she doesn't notice.

"Hmm…I'm sorry." She says with a sad tone and I make manoeuvres to change the subject.

"How did the mission go since I went down?" I ask and she looks at me with a grin.

"Well you managed to save Benezia from Saren's control, her, Liara and Alex have been talking non-stop since we got back, I also killed the Rachni queen because I couldn't trust her word.

DAMN! Shepard's becoming a bit of a renegade….who would of known?

"Hey…do you still get nightmares about Akuze?" Shepard asks and I am caught off guard by the question so I can't answer straight away

"Of course not just about Akuze either, what about you?" I ask and the air grows heavy…

"Yea…nobody would really expect that with me being the first Human Spectre and all that." She says and it's the sad truth.

"While that's true I know you're only Human so I'm not judging you." I quickly close the distance when she least expects it and I embrace her for a long time…. She's warm and when I pull away she has a shocked expression.

After getting over the shock we talk for another two hours.

* * *

**AN: Yea guys I kind of got over the depression….kind of, my ex is now going out with my Best friend right after breaking up with me so that was a bitter pill to swallow so my update schedule will be really erratic however leave a review because it makes me happier and remember have a nice day! :D**


	28. 2183: Contract Killer

**Now Playing: Idols And Anchors**

* * *

Once Shepard left the room I didn't really feel like playing the guitar for a while so I quickly stashed it back inside the case and left my room for the cargo bay, it didn't take long for me to walk to the elevator as some of the crew members gave me some space but I couldn't understand why.

After the slow-ass elevator brought me down to the cargo bay I quickly walk over to Garrus as he was injured along with me on the last mission however he will be allowed to go on the next mission while I won't be able too.

"Hey Garrus, what's up mate?" I ask and he turns around, his mandibles flare upon seeing me.

"Not much, just trying to calibrate the Mako's gun. I heard you took a nasty hit down there, how're you holding up?" He asks with a look of concern.

"No worse than usual buddy, no worse than usual." I say with a sigh.

"How are the nightmares, have they become less frequent?" He enquires as if we were playing twenty questions.

"No mate, I don't think they will for a very long time but they won't affect my skills in combat, you can be sure about that." I say, keeping my head on the mission.

"Kieran, it's not just how it changes the mission I'm worrying about but you also look more tired than usual, you've been making mistakes in combat that I don't think any soldier would and it's getting you hurt more, I'm concerned for your wellbeing." He says and puts his hand on my shoulder.

"I'll be fine Garrus, trust me."

"Okay…Just be careful." He mutters and I nod in response.

"I will buddy, talk to you later?" I ask and he nods before waving me away.

I walk over too Ashley after this and she is working on the weapons as usual but other than that tedious task she doesn't look too busy so I decide to try and start a conversation with the Gunnery Chief.

"Hey Ash, what's up?" I ask with a genuine smile that she returns, after given blood for the team on multiple occasions and people finding out I'm ex-Alliance she seems to trust me more than she did at first.

"Not a lot Kieran, just trying to increase the capacity of these heat sinks." She says with a grunt of annoyance at the weapons.

"Have a moment to talk?" I ask and thankfully she nods and sets the weapon back down on the bench.

"Yea, what about?" She asks and I try to think of something on the spot.

"What did you think of the last mission?" I ask, genuinely curious about what other members of the crew think.

"Well we- I mean, you managed to save Liara's mother from some weird mind control thing but I'm not sure I'm convinced however that won't be a problem so don't worry. I also heard you took a bad hit down there, how's it looking?" She asks and I spare a glance at the area even though I'm wearing a shirt.

"The doc isn't letting me on the next mission but I feel fine really." I say, dismissing it as a nuisance.

"Damn you must be pretty tough then again I don't expect anything else, once N7 always N7 or so they say?" She asks and I laugh at the saying.

"That's pretty much true for me but for some other retired servicemen that isn't the case, some just like to settle down after working hard for humanity for so long….as for me I couldn't stop getting into combat and fighting so I became freelance after I was discharged." I explain and she listens intently.

"Why were you discharged?" She asks, slightly shocked and I sigh.

"A few years ago on Eden Prime there was a hostage situation, it looked bad so they sent me and the rest of Raptor team in with Zulu team commanded by Shepard to secure the hostages…it was looking like a pretty standard operation and it was until we secured the hostages." I explain, the memories of what happened bouncing around in my head like a tennis ball.

"What happened?" She asks, intrigued by the story.

"We killed the nutjobs and secured the hostages however one of the tangos' wasn't really dead and detonated a grenade after ramming into me, I was thrown out of the window and the shrapnel screwed up my last good eye and when I hit the ground I was in a coma. The Alliance discharged me with honours thinking I would never recover as there was excessive damage to my spine and limbs and they wouldn't waste the money for surgery on one grunt." I say.

"So why are you still able to run around now?" She points out, perplexed.

"Well an unknown group paid for the surgery and I knew something wasn't right so I left Eden Prime and hid on Omega, and now I'm here." I say, finishing the tale and she seems genuinely impressed.

"Damn Kieran, you've been through a hell of a lot, thanks for the story but I need to get back to my duties." She says and I understand.

Before leaving I turn around and say something.

"Oh and Ash? It wasn't you're fault about what happened on Eden Prime." I say and she gives a small smile that quickly fades.

"Thanks." She says and I walk away.

I then walk over to Wrex but I find that he's sleeping so I leave, not wanting to disturb the deadly Krogan Battlemaster.

Shortly after my chat with Williams a short announcement comes over the intercom telling us that we will be making a short stop to the Citadel before continuing on to Feros and I'm relieved by this because I can take some shore leave while we are stopping for some supplies.

Well that was my plan before my Omni-Tool pings, signalling that I have a message and it says "Sender Unknown" which instantly gives me bad vibes.

* * *

**Dear Kestrel.**

**I know who you are, I know many things and most important of all I know about the Reapers and how you plan to destroy them.**

**Obviously as I know of them I also want to destroy them so I am making an army and developing new technologies to help combat them and the people who will prove to help them in future.**

**If you want to know how I have access to this knowledge then meet me at the address provided on the Citadel, I look forward to hearing from you.**

**-A friend**

Normally I would smell a trap but someone how this guy knows about me and my ties to the Reapers so they must have some sort of truth to their words, but maybe the Reapers have learned of my knowledge and this really is a trap….still the opportunity is too much so I will go.

* * *

**To summarize what happened, this guy was legit and he had already created several new weapons and recreated many old ones, such as the HK-MP5, M16A4 and many more gunpowder based weapons.**

**He offered me a job in his organisation as an agent that would do jobs for him, in exchange I would get to use the equipment he has to offer for the mission against Saren and we both work towards the mutual goal, as Legion said "Co-operation furthers mutual goals."**

**He gave me the full selection of gear and I was like a kid in a candy store, I quickly settled on the MP5 that had a very nice red dot sight and a suppressor for the more stealthy ops, for a side-arm I could only choose the Beretta M9.**

**My mission was simple, kill an indoctrinated politician and his indoctrinated guards before he can become a major figure in politics and give the reapers and edge.**

**Despite my injury I accepted and I was partnered with a man named Lee Richens, a British bloke like me and the clothes we were wearing reminded me of the 21st century SAS gear except this was extra reinforced and had Shields.**

**The mission started at 20:00 Hours GST. . .**

* * *

My com unit crackles to life as we leave the shuttle and Lee speaks to me.

"Alright we get in, kill these guys and then get out, got it?" He says and his tone annoys me as he talks to me like I'm an incompetent rookie, which from all my experiences of combat I am definitely not.

"Aye." Is all I say as the shuttle flies away quickly and we soon start creeping across the roof top, this goes on for a few nerve-wracking minutes until we find a ventilation shaft…but it was a big one and we both managed to fit at once.

We hop down and he kept on point as we advanced deeper into the building then eventually we drop down in front of a door that is locked however my companion had come prepared.

He skillfully hacks the door which silently opens it however the guards inside notice and draw their low-quality Kessler Pistols.

We both toss a flash grenade each inside the room and shortly after the bright light that illuminates even the corridor we both peak into the room to see both guards stumbling around blindly.

I fire off a burst of fire from my MP5 and the larger rounds quickly tear through the guard's shields' and leaves a large hole in his head.

I look to my right and see that Lee has dispatched his enemy as well however the commotion causes four more guards to flood into the room so I throw a grenade at the clustered enemies.

"Frag out!" I yell as it lands next to them and they are only given a moment's pause before it fucks them up, which sends gore flying in random directions; even leaving blood on the ceiling.

Our target, without his henchmen to protect his starts cowering on the floor and Lee is talking to the boss about when we should see him for a debriefing.

Suddenly he bolts and pulls a hidden pistol out at Lee, I fly into action mode and use my biotics to throw him into the wall; I suddenly feel rage and slam him repeatedly, the force increasing each time until he leaves a Salarian shaped dent in the wall.

"Thanks." Lee mutters but I just nod, having nearly lost another comrade had shaken me.

Several guards emerge from outside and quickly flood into the room, we both take immediate cover behind a desk that quickly comes under heavy fire from four assault rifles I quickly peak out of cover and fire a quick burst from my MP5 and the rounds drop a guard's shields before the final round penetrates his skull, I was about to smirk however a stray round ricochets off of my shoulder pad, this forces me to take cover again quickly.

Lee pulls out his pistol, a Spectre grade weapon by the looks of the design and fires five shots at the guards, killing one and wounding another.

In the end I lob a grenade and finish off the last two guards, we both stand up sprint over to the waiting shuttle.

The door slams shut and we get the hell out of there, it only takes a few minutes for us to get back to the tower and get into the debriefing.

"Kestrel, from what I got from Mr. Richens report you did very well and I will be more than happy to grant you access to our ammo and weapon supplies so long as you continue to work for us after Saren is killed, do you accept those terms?" He asks and I nod before turning and leaving.

Before I walk out Lee stops me, I give him a questioning look and he speaks.

"I look forward to working with you again Kestrel." He says with a smirk.

"You too Lee." I say and finally exit.

I only have one major concern about this guy, where the fuck did he get his information about me and the Reapers, possibly a dimension hopper like myself?

I suddenly feel pain in my wound from the sniper shot and I clutch the spot before wincing in pain, however I manage to keep going until I enter the Normandy again.

I put my equipment in my locker despite the inquisitive glances from my comrades, I then instantly without talking to anyone walk up to Alexia's quarters and the door quickly opens.

I allow myself in and see her working on her rifle, she jumps at my sudden appearance and runs over to me, before I can react she gives me a bone-crushingly tight hug and the only sound I can hear is the dull hum of the ship.

"I was really worried, Shepard had to force me to take a break in the end and I fell asleep so I didn't see you when you woke up…" She trails off with shame dripping from her voice, in response I tighten the hug.

"Its fine love, I'm fine, it's just a little wound that's nothing I can't shake off quickly." I say reassuringly despite how much it bloody hurts.

"Okay, I'm just glad you're okay…" She pulls away and we both sit down on the bed, and now there's nowhere else I'd rather be…

* * *

**A few hours later.**

I ended up falling asleep and so did Alexia, I took the time to go down to the gym after waking up and did some running on the treadmill to keep my fitness up, I start pushing myself and put the machine up to full speed and I can feel the sweat pouring off of me.

I stop after doing an intense half hour run which leaves my heart pounding, I then move to the punchbags, I don't use my biotics in fear that I may break them and I do a standard routine for a while which consists of a few punches and roundhouse kicks that make the bag work hard to keep itself from flying all over the place.

I picture Saren's face on the bag and I had music playing on my Omni-Tool, Not Afraid by Eminem comes on and I smile as I hadn't heard the song for a while.

I right hook the bag which makes it lurch to the left and as it lurches it bring my right leg up and roundhouse kick it, fuelled by rage at the thoughts of everything Saren has done, I eventually lose my composure thinking about and throw my arm forward powered by my biotics, my punch slams into the bag and nearly snps the chain it's attached to.

I grow tired of this after a while and decide to talk to Liara, after all she seemed a lot happier after I managed to save her mother.

I take the elevator up to the correct floor and quickly walk through the med-bay, avoiding the accusing glare of the doctor as if she already seems to know I'd been to the gym despite her telling me to take it easy.

As soon as I walk in Liara's head bolts up and she walks over to me.

"Kestrel, can I help you with something?" She asks and I smile, something I haven't done properly for a while.

"Please, to friends it's just Kieran, I just came to see how you're doing." I say happily and her eyes light up.

"Yes, Shepard seems to do that a lot too, and to answer your question I'm feeling great, I do have my mother back after all." She replies in a bubbly fashion, seeming to bob on her heels as she does.

"Yea, that was a tough mission down on Noveria though right? With the Rachni, evil robots and the occasional biotic commando trying to tear me apart with her mind?" I say sarcastically which makes her laugh.

"Yes it was, how's your wound?" She enquires with a hint of concern.

"Everyone's asking me that as if it's a big deal but to be honest I've had worse injuries back in my time on Omega." I voice my annoyance on everyone's concern.

"Hmm, that sounds interesting…" She mutters.

"I could tell you a few stories some time if you'd like, now I feel like Wrex, telling tales of my former glory." I reference our Krogan ally and it's true that when Wrex isn't down in the cargo hold we are comparing stories of greatness.

"I'd like that Kieran." She says with a smile.

"I'll let you get back to what you were doing then." I finish and just before I can turn to walk out she quickly takes a step forward and lightly embraces me for a moment before pulling away.

"Thanks, for bringing my mother back from that bastard Saren." She says with a tear in her eye, though of sorrow or happiness I don't know.

"Anytime and I promise you that son of a bitch is going down, if it's the last thing I do." I growl with determination and walk out of the room, I then decide it's time to take a well-deserved sleep after a tough day.

Before I make it to my quarters I bump into Andrew who smiles broadly at me.

"Hey bro how you doing?" He asks and offers me a fist bump which I gladly return.

"Not too bad mate just about to head to bed after a day of killing a bunch of people." I say and he looks inquisitive but doesn't ask anything except for one question.

"Why the hell didn't I get an invitation?" He demands and it makes me burst into a fit of laughter.

"Well maybe next time bro but I really need to sleep." I say, cutting off the conversation as my eyes grow heavy.

"Meh, sleep, alright have a good one man." He says before walking off.

"You too!" I call down the corridor.

As soon as I enter my room I home in on my bed like a missile and dive onto it, before I can start thinking about anything I'm out like a light...

* * *

**AN: Hey guys I'm back from my three week vacation to Florida, it was awesome, saw some pythons and alligators, that explains the lack of updates and I haven't touched my computer for three weeks so if I have a load of typo's that would be why.**

**Also in response to my reviewer kreep13, he does run into the firing line a lot but that's just how he is, he may mature as the fight against Saren goes on however the reason he ran in on Therum was because he feared for Alex and Liara's lives against the Krogan, hope that clears it up**

**Bye. Have a good day and remember…**

**PEACE**


	29. 2183: Feros and Breakthroughs

**Now Playing: Celdweller- Own Little World: Remorse Code Remix**

* * *

I awake after hearing Joker announce that we have only a few minutes before we dock at Feros, I don't want to be left off the mission so I quickly bolt down to the cargo hold and put on my newly acquired armour, including the helmet that looks like it has a respirator attached onto the end of it.

I then add six clips for my respective weapons, the MP5 and the M9 which is three each, I also magnetically attach my sniper rifle onto my back and as it's folded it won't really take up that much space so it's a win-win for me.

I then quickly march up to the elevator and take it back up to the top floor, I see Shepard assembling the ground team next to the docking tube and I see six people which surprises me.

She is taking Andrew, Ashley, Kaiden, Tali, Alexia and Wrex which I feel is a little overkill, but then you never know what to expect when facing the Geth, I mean look at what happened when I was on Noveria we nearly got killed by that goddamn Geth ship.

Shepard immediately notices that I'm approaching her fully equipped.

"Kieran, what are you doing? You're not on the team for this mission." She says with an annoyed tone.

"I was thinking that if these people are being attacked by the Geth you're going to need an extra man to keep them safe so I geared up for that very purpose." I say and she groans.

"Fine but I'm having Alexia stay with you just in case the fighting gets too much for you on your own." She says and Alexia quickly nods at this idea.

"If that makes you feel better Shepard then that's a'right by me." I announce, letting my British accent slip through again.

"Okay then let's get out there and kick these metal bastards to the curb!" Shepard yells and we all cheer before exiting to where the man who gets killed is waiting for us.

I instantly pull out my M9 in preparation to save the man, I stand right next to him as Shepard speaks to him however I don't hear the conversation as I am so focused on the spot where the Geth pops out, eventually the man takes a step forward.

As soon as he does this a Geth Shock Trooper steps out and fires a missile/carnage shot at the man however I am quick to react and I push him to the ground with my right hand and quickly dodge roll to the left to avoid an explosive death.

I then bring up my pistol in my two hands and aim at the automaton, I squeeze off four shots from my beast of a handgun that tears the trooper to shreds and makes it drop the floor, unmoving.

Three Geth Troopers' suddenly come out into the open and fire at our group, a burst from their powerful plasma rifles' impacts against the chest piece of my body armour and brings the shields display on my HUD inside my mask/helmet hybrid down to about 67% so I quickly holster my M9 and take out my MP5.

I open fire as do the rest of the squad however I only fire a burst at the lead trooper as the rest of the squad had already dropped it's shields, my weapon roars and five rounds impact the Geth leaving large gouges in the synthetic being.

About half a second later the other two Geth go down and I quickly look around to check for hidden hostiles, after concluding we are safe for a moment I decide to voice that fact.

"Area cleared Shepard." I say, she nods and looks at the stray man we had picked up.

"You, stay behind us and out of the firing line until we get to the colony, then you can do whatever the hell you want." She says to the man who merely nods.

I pull out my handgun again and look at it for a moment, suddenly Ashley walks over to me.

"Good reactions caveman." She says and I am instantly offended.

"Caveman?" I exclaim and she lets out a hearty laugh.

"The gear your using." She deadpans and I just nod.

"Alright people lets get moving!" Shepard yells and we go up the stairwell where I expect Geth Hoppers to appear however none do, I am instantly put on guard by this and I pull out my MP5, rest it into my shoulder and slowly walk up with the rest of the squad, Shepard had me near the back though because of my injury.

We come into the colony and the stray we picked up quickly runs off without thanking me for saving him, I would normally be slightly pissed off with that considering I risked my own skin when I could've let him die but I had more pressing things to think about; like what else had changed in this mission to the original game as we have already got something different, no Hoppers.

Suddenly I hear Plasma fire behind us and the area where the Varren are meant to be, instead there's a full on Geth Strike Force which consists of one Prime, one Destroyer, three Troopers and a Shock Trooper are hammering a small group of three Colonists who have shitty civvi grade weapons to protect themselves with.

"We need to help them!" Shepard yells and everyone agrees before charging into the fray.

Everyone, bar me concentrates their fire on the Prime and attempts to whittle down it's shields however I take a different approach, I see that the three Geth Troopers and the Destroyer are close to each other so I launch a Cluster Overload from my Omni-Tool which takes down the shields of all four of the automatons'.

I quickly pull out my Avenger X sniper rifle and aim at the closest of the Troopers, steady my aim and pull the trigger, my shot sends the Geth's flashlight head flying through the air, I then do two follow up shots that kill the other two troopers however my rifle overheats and nearly singes my combat gloves.

"Fuck! I knew I should've cleaned the heat-sink on this thing." Rather than having to wait for a while to take it down again I do something incredibly stupid, I was always reckless but this is taking it a bit too far.

I gather biotic energy and launch myself at the Destroyer, the force of the impact causes the large machine to fly into the even bigger Geth Prime and they both crash to the ground where my comrades finish them off.

After the fight Shepard leaves to do the mission and I am left sat on a crate next to the barricade.

Alexia approaches me after the fight is over and after Shepard went to clear the tower of Geth, my rifle is still overheating and I am slightly concerned until I see her in front of me.

"Nice job out there Kieran, are you alright with your wound still?" She asks and honestly it hurt after the charge and the dodge roll I did but I decide to make a joke out of it.

"Well... it's not easy being the best." I say cockily, half-joking.

"Cocky git." Alexia says and punches my shoulder, after this my rifle stops billowing out steam and returns to normal.

"Well, how are you doing babe, I mean with this intense mission and everything that happened before, how are you doing honestly?" I ask and look directly at her helmet, I didn't really want to take my mask off knowing what chemicals are in the air anyway.

"It's wearing me down but I'll manage, just like you always have Kieran." She says and I nod.

I suddenly hear something I didn't want to hear so soon after my last fight.

"Geth incoming from the Varren tunnels!" A Colonist yells and I groan.

"Lets go darlin'" I say before putting a fresh clip into my MP5, after that we both run over to the barricade where a new force of Geth emerged however this one was less beefy than the last one; only containing seven regular Geth Troopers and a Shock Trooper.

Doesn't make them any less deadly though, my thought is confirmed when two stray bursts hit my shields and drops them to 40% however I quickly pop up, throw my arm out sideways which spawns a shockwave which launches one of the troopers into two of his comrades with my biotics and they are gunned down by a Colonist.

Alexia takes two quick shots with her sniper that dismantles both of her targets with expert precision while one of the Colonists' manages to eventually drop a trooper's shields however his weapon overheats so I take a quick headshot with my M9 after drawing it like Clint Eastwood would do a six-shooter.

All three of the Colonist guard combine their fire and manage to kill the last regular trooper, that just leaves the Shockie.

This'll be fun, I think and launch a biotic charge which slams me into the machine however it still has it's shields so it only stumbles backwards and swings for me with it's shotgun.

I duck under this clumsy attack and draw my knife which is located on a sheath on my right thigh, as soon as I draw it the Geth swings at me again and this time I use a shockwave to make it stumble backwards, I then exploit this moment of weakness to pounce at the machine and stab it through the weird light thing on its head and it stops functioning immediately after that.

I feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins and I do something I normally never do in combat and it's acting like a complete and utter idiot.

"Yea take that you metal motherfuckers, not you nor your scaly ass rouge Spectre are gonna take us down!" I shout in victory and even without seeing her gace I can tell Alexia didn't expect me to act like that at all, hell I didn't expect it.

Suddenly I feel warmth trickling from the very place I was shot back on Noveria and I can feel myself turn deathly pale, the pain becomes unbearable and I clutch a railing next to me, Alexia quickly dashes over to me.

"Fuck! Lex I think my wound's reopened during that last fight!" I grunt.

I can feel myself fading and suddenly blackness swallows me up...

* * *

**Lee Richens' Point of View**

I walk into the video-communications room and eventually I am greeted by the sight of boss who is wearing a black suit with a red tie and is drinking a glass of wine, he sets it down and looks at me, suddenly for the first time since I've worked with him he smiles.

"We finally have it Agent Richens." He says and I am puzzled.

"Have what sir?" I ask, confused.

"The base to create the evidence we need to prove the Reapers' existence, the old Prothean machine you found was actually a hub that housed a working VI that gave vast amounts of information about their demise to the Reapers and how anyone hearing it should prepare, with this we can start building up a network of data that will eventually convince every major government they are real."

"Brilliant sir, they wont be able to deny the truth much longer and with Sovereign lurking about if I can get a picture of it to compare to images that could be provided by the VI we could cross reference and see the similarities right?" I ask and the boss nods.

"Indeed Richens and I have you to thank for it, after Kestrel's little escapade with Commander Shepard is done you will be partnered with him to find more evidence which is still your current mission now but he will be joining you, that is all, be safe Agent Richens." He says and the comms cut off.

* * *

**AN: That's right guys, the group that hired Kieran have finally found a way to develop a compelling set of evidence to prove that the Reapers are real and are finding a way to let all governments know the truth so they can prepare although who's too say the boss hasn't been preparing already?**

**Leaving a review is always appreciated and if you have a question about the fic PM me and I will answer it unless it will give spoilers, now thank you, good night and remember PEACE!**


	30. 2183: Agency

**Now**** Playing: Daughtry- It's Not Over**

**Flash-forward...one day after the Feros Mission.**

**Andrew Critchley's Point of View**

How the hell do I get myself into these situations? I ask myself this question many times however this may be the biggest spot of trouble I've ever been in throughout my entire career, I couldn't have predicted I would get sent along with Captain Kirahee's men but now I am in charge of them after an explosion rendered the Salarian Captain unconscious.

The situation is worrying as we had just taken down our Anti-Air gun and we are down to only one full sized squad of men against an entire Geth force on their own soil, plus my mind was wondering to other things like the fact that Kieran was put out of commission on Feros and he wont be back until we go to Ilos which none of the regular Normandy Crew know about yet.

I heft my shotgun as another wave of metal soldiers meet us head on and the rounds start flying through the air like a lethal air show, I stand out of cover for a moment and fire a powerful shot at one Trooper who got too close and it destroys him instantly, however several bursts of fire heading in my direction force me to take cover again, I guess it all started when I calmed Wrex down, that was the easiest part of this mission believe it or not.

* * *

_Before Shepard could talk to Wrex I quickly intercept her and dash ahead, wanting to appeal to his honour as I know exactly how to deal with this and I don't want Shepard to potentially mess it up._

_"Wrex, I understand you're upset but you need to understand that Saren is the enemy here!" I plead for once and he just gives me a predator's look._

_"Really? I find it hard to see that when he has made a cure for the Genophage and you want to destroy it, help me out here Critchley because the lines between friend and foe are getting very blurry from where I stand." He says and I snap at this._

_"You really think he is going to be an ally? How naïve are you Wrex, is that really how you want the mighty Krogan race to be remembered? As a rouge **Turian** Spectre's bitch race or the honourable warriors that we both know the Krogan are?" I ask heatedly and he falters for a moment._

_"No, we were tools for the Council once and they neutered us all, okay Andrew, I will follow the Commander but I want Sarens head..." He says, trying to sound menacing but I am unaffected by this._

_"Good." Is all I say._

* * *

Suddenly over the commotion of the battle I hear Shepard discussing the bomb with Kaiden over the radio however I don't get most of the conversation as I am focused on a Geth Destroyer that gets close until I pump several shots from my shotgun into it however I do eventually hear something.

"Shepard go and get Critchley then get out of here." Kaiden says and I am quick to attempt to deny that.

"Oh hell no, Shepard we can barely hold out for a few more minutes, let alone how long it takes you to get here, go and get Kaiden!" I yell but she quickly composes herself and makes the decision.

"Critchley I am ordering Joker to pick you up just hang in there." She orders.

"I..uh got it Shepard." I say struggling to contain the shock that she has chosen my life over the life of Alenko.

Suddenly I am thrown against the wall, my head impacts the wall and I lose consciousness...

* * *

**Virmire Report**

**Written by: Spectre Shepard.**

**Casualties: Lt. Kaiden Alenko: KIA, Alex Fletcher: WIA, Andrew Critchley: WIA**

**_Result: Facility Destroyed however Saren escaped despite receiving a shot to the shoulder._**

* * *

**_Kieran's Point of View, 1 day later_**

I look in the mirror as i'm washing my face and I trace a shrapnel scar up to my synthetic eye and for a moment I lose myself tracing it but I quickly shake myself out of it and head down to grab my armour, that it until I get a message on my Omni-Tool.

**Kieran-**

**I have something of great concern to discuss with you, meet me outside Chora's Den when you dock.**

**-Lee Richens **

We were docking in the next ten minutes so I had no issues with meeting him however this piques my curiosity about what's going.

I quickly head down to the Cargo Bay and grab my black armour that was stored for me after I got back from Feros, Andrew was also knocked unconscious and Alex was shot by a Geth Prime's Minigun so we all seemed to be having bad days.

I wasn't able to attend the debriefing due to my treatment however Shepard told me all about Ilos despite the fact I already know all about it, I still acted shocked just for the hell of it.

I grab my M9 and holster it, then I pull out my MP5 and do the same, I put my Avenger X on my back, finally I put my mask on before heading back up the elevator and by time I got to the docking tube we had already arrived so I was instantly allowed to leave the ship.

I quickly take the elevator down to the C-Sec Academy then take a Rapid Transit car from there to the scummy nightclub I was meant to meet my friend/associate at.

I arrive and see him leaving against a wall with a frown plastered across his face and he pushes himself off the wall before approaching me.

We stand face to face for a few moments.

"Glad to see you came alone." He says and I raise an eyebrow.

"Yea I did, so why did you call me down here?" I demand.

"I have reason to believe our boss may be indoctrinated, I am just letting you know because I am using all my sources to find out the location of his main base so we can plan a takeover of the organisation as I am the only one that has seen or heard him for real, all the other agents are pawns." He says and I am too stunned to speak for a few seconds.

"Alright Lee, i'll hope you on the one condition that if do take over the group we both lead it together, I know a lot about the Reapers so I will need to have a big role in that." I say and he mulls it over for a second.

"I don't see an issue with that, while you are out fighting or doing whatever you're doing I will lead from the main base after we try to take it."

"Got it, Lee i'm also gonna need your help because the Geth are going to be launching an assault on the Citadel with Sovereign any hour now and I want to secure C-Sec Academy so we can suffer less casualties, give the intel to any agents you have planted in their, I will be out fighting in the Council Chambers probably." I say and he nods before leaving.

I decide to send a message to Shepard.

**Hey Shepard.**

**If the Geth are going to attack the Citadel I am going to stay behind to try and help some of the security forces hold their own so don't worry if I don't arrive back at the Normandy, I'll see you soon, kick some ass.**

**-Kieran**

I send it and head to the Council Chambers immediately and it only takes me a few minutes, I decide to sleep on a bench for a 12 hours hours until the assault and I lay down...

* * *

I awake to an explosion and I am immediately on the alert, I leap off the bench and check for hostiles however I see none...for a moment because just as I do a second sweep I see five Geth Troopers' advancing down the hallway and I expect their big boss couldn't be too far behind so I launch a cluster overload that drops all their shields.

I draw my M9 and take six shots which takes them all down quickly with expert precision for a pistol.

I realise that my father's dog tags are dangling around my neck because in my rush to get sorted out I put them over my armour instead of putting them on first but I quickly dismiss this thought as two more troopers arrive with the big boss in tow.

I quickly yank out my sniper rifle and double-tap both of the troopers which go down quite easily.

Saren, having realised I was here to stop him throws a warp at me, I dodge roll to the left and barely avoid it, I quickly recover and fire four shots at the rogue Turian however his biotic barrier simply swats them away like they are nothing.

He starts running at me, I am caught off guard by this and biotic charge him but he merely stumbles before trying to punch me; I catch his fist mid-flight and quickly unsheathe my knife them I stab it into the arm that was immobilized by my hand.

He hisses and backs off for a moment before taking a few steps back.

"Kieran, you know we cannot defeat the Reapers, what I am doing is saving all species...Sovereign sees your potential, join us and survive!" He rants madly and I shake my head.

"No, they will not let us live, never in any number of years would they, you know they will cast us aside as soon as we are no longer useful Saren so I wont be joining you any time soon."

"Very well, then die." he says and launches a shockwave that lifts me off my feet and sends me flying into the control panel.

I see the glint of a scope and I look past Saren to see Garrus aiming with Shepard and Wrex behind her, I need to make the shot easier so I quickly launch a cluster overload that drops Saren's shields and before I know it he has a hole in his head and falls down into the pit below...

My head starts hurting and I stumble then fall into the pit alongside him, Shepard goes towards the panel and I don't know which option she had chosen however I hope it's the right one...

I stand up and I can stand up straight now however I am once again thrown backwards when violent sparks of red lightning lash out and the force throws me back into a pillar and causes all three of my rescuers to fall into the pit with me, I stagger to my feet and see Saren, looking like some sort of weird feline creature look me in the eye before hopping onto the ceiling.

I pull out my M9 and we all open fire, my rounds being larger do massive damage to his shields and before I know it they have dropped...then something happens that I don't remember in the game, I take cover as I see him glowing a violent red.

My companions don't do the same and they are thrown to the floor by a massive shockwave, suddenly knowing I am vulnerable the creature leaps at me and one of his claws clips the chain of my dad's dog tags and sends them falling to the ground across the room.

**"Pathetic, clinging to items of sentimental value, it makes you weak and they will be your undoing." **The creature says before firing a carnage at them that destroys them completely and I suddenly feel uncontrollable rage...the last thing I have of my fathers who was killed in Afghanistan...gone...

"ARGH!" I feel my biotics making my body glow and just like what happened to Saren violent _Blue _of what appears to be lighting starts lashing out, without thinking I biotic charge and instead of just making the creature stumble it spirals through the air and slams into the pillar behind it.

"I will fucking end you!" I yell and I run at the creature again, it swings for me with it's claws and I sidestep to avoid it then launch a roundhouse kick into its side which slams it into another wall.

I pull out my MP5 and just before I unload a full clip into it, it speaks.

**"You may defeat me but our numbers are unfathomable, our numbers will darken the skies of every world...there is no hope."**

Feeling like a badass and wanting to do an epic one liner I say.

"Then we will fight in the shade, hasta la vista fucker." I say ripping off two movie quotes, I unload a full clip from my MP5 which destroyers the damaged creature and causes it to disintegrate, however I fail to notice it left something by my feet..i realise what it is...

"Oh shit!" I yell and try to dive out the way however I feel pain erupt all over my body and I black out...

* * *

**Shepard's Point of View**

About fifteen hours after the battle Kieran was admitted to hospital and received critical care for life threatening shrapnel wounds, they had to give him a new lung and needless to say the entire squad was worried.

* * *

**Two Weeks After the Battle of The Citadel.**

"Here you go Mr. Evans you may now leave the hospital and carry on with your life." The doctor says and hands me a permission slip to exit the critical care ward which I thank him for and quickly hand in to the receptionist, as soon as I leave I see a message from Alexia.

**-Kieran**

**Everything's gone to hell since you've been out of action, Shepard died, Andrew's gone missing along with Alex and now I don't know what to do, I guess we should meet up sometime but i'm being posted to Arcturus station.**

**-Alexia**

Dammit...I couldn't save Ellie...fuck..

* * *

**Four Months After the battle of the Citadel**

After a while of hunting me and Lee managed to take down the boss and funnily enough the organisation didn't have a name so I decided to name it once we took over, it wasn't a very creative name but we are now known just as...the Agency.

* * *

**AN: I know I will take a lot of flack because of the time skips but I wanted to get into the sequel and finish off the Saren Saga so sorry if the quality is really poor but on a positive note the sequels first chapter will be out very soon!**

**PEACE!**


End file.
